Starting Over
by Lily-James4ever26
Summary: Hermione has told the Weasleys her secret, and she is very relieved. One day a letter arrives at the Burrow from her parents. Little did she know that this one letter would change the course of her life forever. Sequel to Painful Memories
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Back to the Burrow 

Hermione Granger was once again contemplating her life and the choices that she had made. After Ron's death she left magic behind forever, and intended on never looking back. For months and months she had cried herself to sleep, but her tears had stopped since then. Hermione never thought back on the memories of her past, for they were filled with happiness and tears of joy, not of sadness, and whenever the memories flooded her mind, she would break down. The hole in her heart had never healed, and she never expected it to.

For the past three years she had been living in solitude, in the muggle world. She cut herself off from everyone that she loved, Harry and the Weasleys. She severed ties with her support system and fell into a deep depression that was nearly impossible to come out of. She stopped living, and grew more despondent and mad at the universe. As she thought back on her decisions that lead her to this point, she decided that she was ready to live once again.

She went into the bedroom of her small flat in the muggle neighborhood in which she currently lived and looked under her bed. She saw it. She reached under the bed and pulled out the small wooden box hat contained everything from her past. She set the box down on her bed and ran her fingers over the smooth wooden surface of the box. She took a deep breath and opened it.

The very first thing that she saw when she opened the box was a picture of her, Ron, and Harry at graduation in seventh year. She slowly began to take all of the pictures out of the box. There were pictures of the Weasleys, Harry, Ron, her friends, at school, members of the Order, and many others. Her eyes began to well up with tears as she reached the bottom of the box, but she did not let them fall. She instead let a smile make its way onto her face as she found the last thing left in the box. She picked up the small, black, velvet ring box and opened it. The simple diamond ring sparkled in the sunlight; she had finally made her decision. She placed the ring in the bottom of her suitcase.

She was going to tell the secret she had been keeping from everyone for three years, the secret that had caused her sadness and depression. She was ready to tell everyone what Ron had planned to do that fateful night, and to tell them that had he lived, they would have been family. She wanted to be happy again, to feel loved and to love, and to be amongst those who had once help to make her life complete. She was ready to break the chains that had held her down for so long.

Hermione picked up her suitcase, found her wand, and pictured the Burrow clearly in her mind. "Here goes nothing." she thought before apparating to the place she thought she would never again visit in her life. She looked again at the house she had visited many times in her life; the home that she knew was much emptier after the war. George, Bill, Fleur, and Clarice, Fleur and Bill's daughter, had all died in the war. She didn't want to think of how Mr. and Mrs. Weasley felt; three of their children had died along with one of their grandchildren.

_Flashback…_

_  
Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were sitting in the kitchen of Grimmauld place when Moody's head appeared in the fire. "Anyone who's there, get down here! We have a situation at the Weasley's place." _

"_Which one?" Ginny asked, her voice trembling. _

"_Bill's place." Moody replied. _

"_Oh no." the three said in unison. "We'll be right over Mad- Eye." Harry said. The three of them stood up and flooed to Bill and Fleur's house. The possibility that they could be dead was something that no one wanted to think about, but the thought still invaded to minds of Hermione, Harry, and Ginny. When they landed in the kitchen, they saw that the house was swarming with aurors, and Mrs. Weasley could be seen silently crying into Mr. Weasley's shoulder while Charlie, Ron, and George were sitting at the table, their faces downcast. _

"_Hermione, Ginny I think you should go back." Harry said forcefully. _

"_Why?" said the girls in unison. _

"_They're dead, all three of them." Harry whispered his eyes filling with tears. _

_Hermione looked behind Harry and saw something she never wanted to see. Three bodies were lying on the floor of Bill and Fleur's home. Fleur's blue eyes were open in a blank, cold stare, her silky golden hair messy and disheveled, and her robes spattered with blood. Bill was in the same state, but looking as if he was beaten and tortured, his robes were ripped and he looked almost as bad as when Greyback attacked him._

_Then Hermione remembered Clarice. "Harry where is Clarice?" she asked, when in her heart she knew the answer to her own question. Then she saw it, the body of a small blonde girl was hidden from view; the only thing visible from behind the couch was her golden hair. She began to sob as tears fell freely down her cheeks. She remembered the young girl, beautiful and innocent, and now dead at the hands of Voldemort._

"I'm not ready for this. I don't think I can face them again." Hermione whispered to herself as a tear slid down her cheek. All the horrible memories had come flooding back to her in a second, and she didn't know if she was ready to succumb to the pain she knew would come if she entered the Burrow. Before she could apparate back home, a man with untidy black hair, emerald green eyes, and, by the look of him, he was covered in spaghetti sauce. Her heart almost leapt out of her chest, a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. She was immediately overcome with emotion and she fell to her knees, letting herself cry. The man came and lifted her up in a hug.

"I missed you Hermione, we all have." whispered Harry. Then a lovely young woman with red hair, wearing an apron, and also covered in the mysterious spaghetti sauce came out of the house and stared at the sight before her. She immediately ran to the crying friends out on the front lawn. Hermione cried even more as Ginny sprinted across the lawn towards Harry and her. She then realized she was doing something she hadn't done in three years.

She was crying tears of joy and happiness, and hugging the two best friends she had left in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Life Moved On 

The two women hugged each other and were sobbing uncontrollably. Harry smiled as he watched his wife and his best friend, even though tears were freely falling down his cheeks as well. Then he realized that his dreams for the past three years had become a reality; Hermione had come back home.

"Hermione I'm so glad your home!" cried a hysterical Ginny. 

"Yeah Mione, we've missed you."

"I missed you guys too." Whispered Hermione. 

"Well come on, let's go inside! Mum will be absolutely thrilled to see you, and so will everyone else. Tonight everyone is coming over for dinner, because mum insists one seeing the WHOLE family at least once a week. Oh and there's so much you've missed! I've got to tell you everything! First you have to come and meet the… "Harry cut her off."Gin let her breathe! She just got here for Merlin's sake."

"Yeah, let's just start by going inside." sighed Hermione. Harry picked up her bags, and the trio went inside. The moment they got inside they could hear screaming and two little blurs, one with red hair and the other with black, running around the kitchen.

"Ron! James! You boys get over here this instant!" commanded Molly Weasley.

"You never catch us Gramma!" said the raven- haired boy.

"We go fass as daddy on iz boom! WHOOSH!" yelled the red- haired boy.

Molly was chasing the two boys who didn't look to be any older then two. They had both taken off all of their clothes, and were running around the kitchen stark naked, and covered in spaghetti sauce.

"Need some help Mum?" called Ginny from the door.

"No, Ginny I'm okay, but could you round them up for a bath because their covered in spaghetti." Molly stopped as soon as she saw Hermione. Both of the small boys stopped and turned and looked from their Grandmother to Hermione. Then they pointed at Hermione and said," OOOOO, you in touble!" Then the two boys looked at Harry and Ginny and grinned. At that moment, Harry and Ginny started laughing, and Molly moved from her place in the kitchen then came over and pulled Hermione into a hug. Molly and Hermione both had tears cascading down their cheeks.

"Hermione dear, it's so wonderful to see you!" cried Molly. 

"It's great to see you too, Molly."

"Looks like I've missed a lot." said Hermione looking towards the two boys. "Care to introduce me?" Harry went over and picked up the two boys easily, earning a scowl from Molly, because she'd been trying to pick them up for the past 20 minutes.

"These are our twin three-year-old boys. This strikingly handsome young man over here who looks like his dad, but with his Mum's eyes is James Sirius Potter. Then this little one who is almost exact replica of his uncle Ron, but with his dad's brilliant green eyes, is Ronald Brian Potter." Said Harry with a proud smile on his face. Hermione's eyes were filling with tears.

"So I guess you found out you were pregnant pretty much right after I left?" Ginny nodded. "Wow, he looks so much like Ron it's scary. Well, Ron over here got lucky with his uncles good looks, but poor little James got stuck with Harry's impossible hair." Hermione said smiling at Harry, while Ginny was shaking in silent laughter. "Just kidding Harry. They're the most handsome little boys I've ever seen. They act so much like Ron and Harry it's scary! They're so cute but they look like another pair of troublemakers."

"Well they most certainly are! Okay, there will be time to admire my beautiful grandchildren later, but right now they need a bath, and you both need to show Hermione to her room. Molly said taking the boys from Harry and going upstairs. 

"I don't think we need to show you to your room, seeing as your practically used to live here during Hogwarts. There are three free rooms, take your pick." Said Ginny.

"Don't you mean four rooms?" asked Hermione.

"Well I thought you wouldn't want to stay in Ron's room, you know?" said Ginny nervously.

"Well, would it be alright if I did stay in his room?"

"It's up to you" said Harry. 

Hermione picked up her bags and began her walk up to the room at the top of the stairs. When she reached the door, she stood in front of it and stared at the door for a while. Harry and Ginny sensed she needed to be alone, so they walked back downstairs. Hermione grasped the doorknob and slowly opened the door. She walked into his room and smiled. It was still the same, they hadn't touched it. The bright orange paint still covered the walls, the players on the Cannons posters smiled and waved at her, his clothes still covered the floor, and all of his pictures of his family and friends were everywhere. She walked around the room and looked at all of his pictures. Many of them were from back in Hogwarts, one from their graduation day, one picture by the lake when they first started dating, and many others. There were lots of pictures of the Weasleys, and pictures from Fleur and Bill's wedding._ "I'm handling this pretty well considering whenever I used to look at a picture of Ron I would burst into tears." _she thought.

Hermione set her bags on the floor, and opened up the bag that held the ring. She slowly opened the black velvet ring box, and once again she saw the most beautiful ring she had ever laid eyes on. Now she looked at it and smiled, instead of crying. She now thought of Ron and all of the deceased with joy remembering all of the good times instead of the bad. It was then she realized she was ready to tell the Weasleys her secret, Ron's secret.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Secret 

Hermione walked down the steps, smiling and thinking of her Ron. When she got downstairs it was about 5:00 and Molly could be seen bustling around the kitchen preparing dinner for that night. When Hermione walked into the living room, she had to stifle a laugh. Harry and Ginny were passed out on the sofa, fast asleep. The twins had somehow gotten hold of some markers and were drawing on Harry and Ginny's faces. It was moments like this when Hermione wished she had a camera. After one of the twins gave Ginny a very curly moustache, Hermione couldn't contain her laughter any longer and she began to laugh so loudly that she woke Harry and Ginny.

"What's so funny?" asked Harry yawning.

"Um, you guys might want to go look at yourselves in a mirror." said Hermione still giggling. Harry and Ginny walked into the bathroom beside the kitchen. Hermione then turned and smiled at the twins, and they just gave her toothy grins.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN IS ON MY FACE?" Ginny screamed from the bathroom.

"BLOODY HELL!" Harry yelled.

Hermione was still laughing when she turned to look at the twins. They were drawing on each other! She went over, took the markers from them, and picked them both up. Harry and Ginny both walked back into the living room with scowls on their faces.

"Looks like the twins need a bath!" said Hermione, showing Harry and Ginny what the twins had done to each other.

"Yeah, you're right. It's five and everyone's supposed to arrive at six, which means we only have an hour before everyone gets here! BUGGER!" said Harry earning a slap in the back of his head from Ginny.

"Watch your language! They're three years old. Now let's go get you boys washed up." said Ginny taking the twins from Hermione. "Will you be all right while we go give these troublemakers a bath?"

"I'll be fine I'm just going to read a book." Ginny and Harry and exchanged a glance thinking the same thing _She hasn't changed a bit. _

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and James made their way upstairs to get cleaned up while Hermione curled up on the couch to read _A Healers Guide to Charms _By Miranda Tibble. At about quarter to six Harry, Ginny, and the twins were coming down the stairs, now very clean. "I'm going to put the boys in their high chairs before they cause any more trouble." said Ginny putting the boys in their seats. Hermione, Harry and Ginny went outside to set up the tables in the garden and set the table as well. When they were finished they could hear commotion coming from inside of the house. Laughing and children yelling could be heard in the garden.

"Looks like everyone's here!" said Ginny excitedly.

"Yeah." sighed Hermione.

"Come on, don't be nervous Hermione! You've known everyone in there forever. There may be some people you'll be pleasantly surprised to see." said Harry giving Ginny a smile, she knew who he was hinting about.

"All right, let's go, I'm ready." said Hermione. Hermione, Harry, and Ginny walked into the house and saw everyone sitting in the living room laughing and talking while the little children were running around laughing and playing. The moment Hermione walked into the living room, everyone got quiet, and the only noises were coming from the kids, but they soon were quiet also. Fred was the first one to say something to Hermione.

"It's great to have you back Hermione! We all missed you!" shouted Fred enthusiastically as he came up and gave her a hug. Next Charlie came up and gave her a hug. She even got a hug from Percy. Hermione, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley along with the other women in the room were teary-eyed as Arthur cam over to Hermione.

"It's wonderful to have you back Hermione. Now you can show me how to use a fellytone again, because I'm afraid I've forgotten how to use one." He whispered to her causing her to laugh a little, lightening the mood a bit. He gave her a hug and stepped back. She took a look around the room at some of the other women. When her eyes landed on a dark-skinned woman standing next to Fred, her breath caught in her throat.

"OH. MY. GOD. Angelina is that you?" squealed Hermione. Angelina nodded Hermione went over and gave her a hug, although it was a little hard because Angelina was a little big around the middle. "Your poor girl, please don't tell me Fred hoodwinked you into marrying him?" everyone laughed and looked for Angelina's response.

"Yeah, and a lot of good marrying did me! I get an offer from the Harpies, then I find out I'm pregnant, shock of my life that was." said Angelina trying very hard to be serious but failing miserably as a huge smile swept over her face when she saw the scowl on Fred's face. She began to laugh all the harder, but Fred joined in the laughing as well. Hermione continued her scan around the room and was met with another semi- familiar face.

"I think I remember you! You were Head Girl with Percy in my third year! Penelope, correct?" Penelope nodded.

"Percy and I have been married for about two years." Percy smiled and put his arm around her waist.

"The baby girl over in the play pen is our daughter Elizabeth Olivia Weasley. She's about six months old." Percy told Hermione.

"She's beautiful." said Hermione looking over at the sleeping baby. "Now I do believe I know everyone here but this lovely young woman over here. I'm assuming you can introduce me Charlie?"

"This is my wife Annabella. We met in Romania. The little red-head trailing after Ron and James is our son Will. He's two years old." said a smiling Charlie.

"Okay everyone can head outside because dinner's ready!" said Molly. Everyone left the living room and went out to sit in the garden. On the table was all the food Hermione could possibly eat. Everyone was eating and chatting happily. Hermione realized this was the happiest that she had been in a long time. As dinner went on, Hermione continued to finger the ring box in her pocket. Soon Molly brought out dessert, and Hermione knew the time was coming when she would have to tell them. After Molly set out dessert, Hermione slowly stood up. Once again everyone got quiet and had their attention focused on Hermione.

"Everyone there's um… something I've been meaning to tell you all for some time, but I've never had the courage to tell you all. So here goes nothing. The night of the final battle, I found something that you all should know about. Ron and I were going out for dinner that night, but when we got to Hogsmeade, we saw all of the d-death eaters. You all know what pretty much happened that night. After Ron was killed, something fell out of the pocket of his robes and I picked it up. What I'm about to show you is why I've avoided you all for so long." Hermione took the ring box out of her pocket and held it up. When she opened it, everyone at the table gasped when they realized what Hermione realized three years ago. They realized his intentions, and that Hermione was really a true part of the family, or at least she should have been. Tears were once again stinging her eyes, and memories of that night once again overwhelmed her. She let out a sob and ran from the table back up to the house. Harry got up and followed Hermione up to Ron's room where he found her curled up on Ron's bed crying.

"Hermione," Harry said pulling her into a hug. "Why did you keep this from us? We could've helped you and been there for you and comforted you if we would've known!"

"I know, but I just wish I would've realized that sooner." She said sobbing into his shoulder.

"Well we know now, and we'll always be here and help you when you need us. Just remember we love you and we always will." said Harry. Harry sat with Hermione until she had calmed down.

"Thanks Harry. I don't know what I'd do without you. I just need some time alone right now, you know? Tell everyone I'm sorry about the big scene, and I'll see them again soon. Right now I just want to go to stay up here." She said.

"All right, I'll tell them, just get some sleep." Harry said giving her one last hug before he went downstairs. Hermione lay down in Ron's bed and smiled. She was happy again, and she was glad that she told everyone her secret because now it felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

Hermione was happy, and that is how she wanted to stay. Then another realization hit her,_ I like being happy and with family and friends. I think I'm ready to move on. I'll never forget Ron, but I think I'm ready to move on with my life._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Letters

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and happier then she had felt in a long time. She got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. Harry, Ginny, Molly, Arthur, and the twins were all eating breakfast. They all turned and smiled at her, but she still felt that there was still some tension between everyone because of what she had revealed last night. Suddenly, Ron picked up his spoon and shot some eggs at Harry when he wasn't looking, causing everyone to laugh, and lightening the mood.

"Good morning Hermione. Why don't you come and sit down and eat!" said Molly, motioning to a seat beside Ginny. The moment Hermione sat down, three owls flew into the kitchen. Hedwig, Pig, and the Weasley's new owl, Chip. Each had mail with them. Hermione received her Daily Prophet, a letter from her boss at St. Mungo's, and then three letters her parents had sent her. The first letter she opened was from her parents:

_Dear Hermione, _

_I know we've been owling you a lot these past few days, but we have been getting letters in the mail for you. We sent them along with Pig. We think they're from some of your old friends because they must not know that you've moved out. Make sure you owl us back and tell us when we can expect a visit from you! _

_We love you, _

_Mum and Dad_

Hermione looked at the envelopes with a look of shock and confusion on her face.

"What's the matter Hermione?" Harry asked.

"My parents got some letters for me in the muggle mail. That means these letters are probably from people I haven't seen or talked to in a long time." Hermione began to open the first envelope. When she saw who it was from she squealed and jumped up from the table, once again earning everyone's attention. "OHMYGOD! It's from my best friends Sarah and Jessica from my old camp!" There were two letters in that envelope. She opened he first one:

_Dear Jay,_ Hermione smiled, remembering her old nickname.

_I've missed you so much! I haven't heard from you in a while, and I was just wondering what you were going to do about your offer from C.S.R. I know YOU of all people got one. __'_The only thing is I didn't and I have no clue what you're talking about,' Hermione thought._ I hope you come this summer, because Jessie, Josh, Mark, and I are all going and we can't wait to see you! Hope to see you soon! Call me; my cell's still the same. _

_Love you, _

_Sarah_

_P.S. I'm engaged! His name is Nathan Tucker, and I love him to death! (Sarah Tucker doesn't that sound awesome!)_

Hermione put the letter down and couldn't help but be a little confused. What offer from C.S.R.? She would have to call Sarah and Jessie to ask them. She opened the next letter in the envelope from her other best friend, Jessica:

_Dear Jay, _

_I haven't seen you in forever! I miss you. I hope you've been well in the wizarding world! We "muggles" all miss you. How's that man of yours, by the way? Well, just writing you to see if you were going to accept your offer from C.S.R. We all can't wait to see you! I hope I'll see you at C.S.R. this summer! _

_Love you, _

_Jessie _

_P.S. I know Sarah told you about Nathan, but JOSH POPPED THE QUESTION TOO! We might end up having a double wedding with Sarah and Nathan. Wouldn't that be awesome? __  
_

Hermione finished the letters and handed them to Harry and Ginny to read. After reading the letters she realized how out of touch she was with her friends in the muggle world… she didn't know they were even dating Josh or that Nathan guy. What's worse is they didn't even know about Ron yet.

"Hermione what's C.S.R.?" asked Harry, interrupting her thoughts.

"It's a muggle camp, Camp Shadow Rock, which I went to for a month every summer. After Voldemort came back in fourth year, I stopped going. I still kept in touch with my friends, but I never went back." said Hermione.

"Oh." said Harry and Ginny.

"Well, I'm going to open this last letter. Oh my, it looks like it's from Tony! He's the director at C.S.R." excitedly, Hermione opened up the last letter:

_Dear Ms. Granger,_ 'Ms. Granger? Why would Tony call me Ms. Granger?' Hermione wondered.

_As you may know, a few years ago, Tony Simon, the director here at Camp Shadow Rock, resigned as director._ 'What?' Hermione thought_. I would like to know if you would be able to help me out this summer, and be a counselor. Many of the other counselors said you would be a great asset to the camp this summer. I would greatly appreciate it, and it would be great to have someone here who knows the camp as well as you do. Please consider my offer, and you can call the camp office or mail in your response. Camp this summer starts on July 1st and the staff are obligated to come the day before to get their cabin assignments and other things. Please respond as soon as possible. _

_Sincerely, _

_Daniel Martin, Camp Shadow Rock, director._

"YAY!" Hermione screamed jumping up from the table.

"What?" asked Harry and Ginny. Hermione shoved the letter into Ginny's hands.

"I can't believe Tony retired! WOW! The first day of camp is in less then a week, and I'm definitely going this summer! I need to call this guy, pack all my muggle clothes and things, and call Sarah and Jessica!" said Hermione rushing toward the stairs.

"Hermione, WAIT!" yelled Harry. She stopped and turned to look at him. "You better be taking your wand just in case. You never know what could happen, and I don't want you going unarmed."

"Fine, whatever Harry. The three Death eaters there are left are going to go to a muggle camp in the middle of nowhere just to do me in. Yeah right, but if it makes you feel better I will take my wand." said Hermione after seeing the look of concern on Harry's face.

"Good. Make sure you are careful." Harry said giving her a hug. "Now go get packed and make some phone calls."

Hermione ran up the stairs and packed all the muggle things she brought with her to the Burrow in a suitcase. Then she realized most of her muggle clothes were at her flat, so she apparated back home. She got all of her muggle clothes and packed them all into a suitcase, along with other things she would need. While she was home, she dug out her phonebook and found Jessica and Sarah's phone numbers. First she called Jessie.

**"Hello?"  
****  
****"Hey Jessie! Guess who it is?"  
****  
****"Jay, I haven't talked to you in FOREVER!"  
****  
****"I know I'm sorry about that. I was just calling to tell you that I am coming to C.S.R. with you all this summer, and to scold you for not telling me that Tony retired! I know you knew about that new Daniel guy."  
****  
****"YAY! You're coming! About Daniel, I'm sorry. It must have just slipped my mind."  
****  
****"Of course it did. Well I'll talk to you later. I have to call Sarah and the new director. Love you Jessie!"  
****  
****"Love you too Jay! See you at C.S.R. Oh, and make sure that when you call Sarah that you hold the phone away from your ear, because she'll scream when she hears your voice."  
****  
****"Bye, Jessie!"  
****  
****"Bye, Jay!" ****  
**

Hermione hung up the phone and then dialed Sarah's number.

**"Hey, Sarah?" Hermione pulled the phone away from her ear.  
****  
****"HERMIONEEEEEEE!" Sarah squealed. "It only took you three years to call me!"  
****  
****"Yeah, sorry about that. I just had to tell you the news."  
****  
****"DANIEL CONTACTED YOU AND YOU'RE COMING TO C.S.R.!"  
****  
****"You must be psychic!"  
****  
****"I can't wait to see you! It's going to be like back in the old days where we ruled the camp. Except now, we actually will rule the camp!"  
****  
****Hermione laughed, "I know, I'm so excited! I have to call this Daniel guy at camp, and I'll see you there in less than a week!"  
****  
****"All righty then! Bye, Jay, love you!"  
****  
****"Love you too, bye Sarah."  
****  
**

Hermione hung up the phone and was about to call Daniel when she realized that she didn't have the camp's number with her. She looked through her phone book and couldn't find it. "BUGGER!" she thought in a very Ron-like state-of-mind. She realized if she sent the letter by muggle post that it wouldn't get there in time, so she decided to take a risk and send the letter by owl. She wrote her response and handed it to pig. She told the owl, "This is going to a muggle place, so just drop it off outside of the main office, okay?" Pig gave a hoot of understanding and flew off. Hermione then picked up her suitcase and apparated to the Burrow.

"Guys I'm back!" Hermione called when she got inside.

When no one answered Hermione went out into the back yard and saw brooms up in the sky. Harry and Ginny each had one of the boys on their brooms and they were flying with them. When they saw Hermione they landed and went over to her.

"So?" asked Ginny.

"I'm going to leave the day after tomorrow if I get a call back from the director at the camp. If I leave, I'll be gone for two months, but families are allowed to visit on certain occasions. So right now I'm going to finish packing."

"Alright Mione. We'll go and see you off when you leave, okay?"

"Alright. I'm just going to go to bed when I'm done packing so goodnight everyone." Hermione said giving each of the twins a kiss on the forehead.

"Night Hermione." Said Harry and Ginny together.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Daniel Martin

He paced his office at the muggle camp, trying to figure out why she hadn't responded to his letter yet. He was planning on Hermione coming to work at Camp Shadow Rock, but maybe she figured out who he really was. He knew that was very unlikely though. He knew who she was, of course, his sworn enemy's best friend. That made things even more complicated. He may be Daniel Martin now, but when she sees him she will know who he is in an instant. His white-blonde hair wasn't very common, and he didn't look much different then he did back in sixth year. He was a little taller, he didn't slick back his hair anymore, and his features had become that of a grown man, but he still looked the same. Daniel Martin was none other than Draco Malfoy.

Not the same Draco Malfoy from Hogwarts, though, that's for sure. After the mission where he had tried to kill Dumbledore, he was done with Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and most of all, his father. He ran away, not knowing where he was going to end up. On his travels he came to a muggle camp, Camp Shadow Rock.

When Draco first walked into Tony's office, he was 17 years old and looking for a job and a place to stay. It was the summer after the sixth year fiasco, and Tony welcomed Draco with open arms. Draco spent his first two summers working as a C.I.T. (counselor- in- training), then the next two years working as a counselor. Then Tony asked Draco if he would consider running C.S.R., because Tony felt like it was time for him to go off and do other things. Draco accepted Tony's request, and for the past two years Tony had been alongside Draco teaching him everything he knew, but this year, Draco was on his own. Draco knew he could handle it, but he still called in some reinforcements.

He asked four of his friends that he had been C.I.T.s with- Jessica, Sarah, Josh, and Mark- if they would come to be counselors this summer. They all accepted, of course. They recommended that he ask one more person, a person who they knew knew more about C.S.R. than anyone else, Hermione Granger. He actually wasn't surprised that she went to C.S.R, but he was skeptical that she would accept his offer. Hopefully, the fake name would be enough for her to come, and then he could talk her into staying once she got here. The only problem was she hadn't responded to his letter yet. Then, suddenly, an owl flew past the window of Draco's office.

"I'll be damned. The brightest witch of our age used an OWL to deliver a letter to a MUGGLE camp. How thick can you get?" Draco said to himself. He was happy to see that she had responded, but he was a little anxious about what she would say. He went outside and picked up the letter that the owl had dropped off. It read:

_Dear Daniel, ___

_It would be my pleasure to come back to C.S.R. and be a counselor! I'm really excited about coming back, and I just have a favor to ask; would it be all right if I came a little early? Maybe sometime around June 27th? It would be really great to get reacquainted with the camp, as I'm sure many things have changed. Just give me a call on the second phone number in the directory. I can't wait to meet the man who took over after Tony! Hope to see you soon, ___

_Sincerely, ___

_Hermione Granger_

"YES SHE ACCEPTED!" Draco shouted. He went to the camp directory files to find her number. He dialed the second number in the directory. He was hoping that she wouldn't recognize his voice.

**"Hello, this is Daniel Martin is Hermione there?"  
****  
****"Yes dear, she is here ass a matter of fact. I'll go get her, hold on."** On the other end Draco heard some talking 'Ginny dear, can you get Hermione, she has a felly tone call!'

'_Felly tone?'_ He thought. _'This phone must be in a wizarding household. Could Ginny be Ginny Weasley? Those blood traitors have a phone?_' His thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Weasley.

**"She'll be here in a moment dear. You know, it's been a long time since anyone has called our house. Oh look, here she is dear."** Hermione took the phone from Mrs. Weasley.

**"Daniel! I'm so glad you called! So what do you say about me coming early?"   
****  
****"It's perfectly fine. Staff is required to come a day early anyway, so why not come three** **days early?"  
****  
****"YES! So that means I'll see you tomorrow, probably noon-ish. Is that okay?"   
****  
****"That great, Hermione. I'll see you then."** Her name sounded foreign to him as he had always called her Granger or mudblood.

"**Okay, Bye!"   
****  
****"Bye."** Draco heard a click on the other line, signaling she had hung up.

The Next Day, June 27th.

Hermione woke up to the familiar orange glow of Ron's room at about 7:00 the next day to finish packing all of her things. At 11 o'clock, Hermione was still looking for one more thing.

"GIN! HAVE YOU SEEN MY SWIM SUIT?" Hermione yelled down the stairs.

"LOOK IN HARRY AND MY ROOM!" Ginny yelled to Hermione. Hermione went into their room and saw the swim suit on the clothes basket in their room.

"Thanks Ginny!" Hermione said dragging her bags into the kitchen. "I'm finally done."

"Yeah, and with about 45 minutes until 12." Harry said giving the boys their sandwiches and sippy cups. 

"WHAT? I have to leave like now! I'm apparating to a secluded place nearby the camp. But then I have like a 25 minute walk!" said an exasperated Hermione. Suddenly, a spitting noise came from where the twins were sitting. James had taken a sip of his juice and spit it out at Ron. Ron just giggled and then spit some of his juice back at James.

"Why did you do that James? That was very naughty! You keep on this way you'll turn out like your uncles Fred and George." Said Ginny. "Now you two need ANOTHER bath."

"Let's hold off on the bath so I can say good-bye!" said Hermione. She went over and gave each of the boys a kiss on the forehead. "Bye boys! I'll be back soon!"

"Bye aunty Hermy!" said James.

"We miss you!" said Ron reaching his arms out for a hug. Hermione smiled and gave him a hug. 

"I'll miss you too Ronnie." Then she went to say good-bye to Harry, Ginny, and Molly. "I'll tell you when family visits are, okay?" she said, giving each of them a hug. Then she shrank her bags, put them in her pocket, and apparated.

She began her walk, and continued walking to camp for about 25 minutes. Then she came to a huge wooden sign that read "CAMP SHADOW ROCK". Quickly, she enlarged her bags, making sure there was no one around to see her. She felt as if she were home. It was exactly as she left it, all the cabins looked the same, with the exception of what looked like 2 new cabins, the same mess hall, and the lake was still as beautiful as ever.

She made her way over to what used to be Tony's office and quarters. Now the sign on the door read "Daniel Martin" instead of "Tony Simon". She knocked on the door and waited for it to open. When the door opened, she wished it hadn't. She knew Daniel Martin wasn't really who he said he was. She knew it was Draco Malfoy who was staring back at her. She stepped back and only said two words before she fainted and fell backwards off the steps.

"Bloody Hell."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Rows and Rocks

"Granger! Granger, wake up!" Draco said shaking Hermione's shoulder. "Fine then, Hermione, wake up! Come on, wake up Hermione!" Slowly her eyes started to open.

"Owww, my head." She groaned.

"Yeah, that normally happens when you faint and hit your head on the ground." Draco said with a smirk on his face. Then in a matter of a second Hermione's face went from an expression of pain, to that of absolute anger.

"MALFOY! YOU GET THE BLOODY HELL AWAY FROM ME!"

"Granger, just listen, I - "

"YOU BASTARD! YOU KILLED DUMBLEDORE!" 

"Hermione!"

"YOU SLIMY, SLYTHERIN, DEATH EATER OF A FERRET HOW DARE YOU –"

"Granger! Just shut the hell up and listen for 5 seconds." shouted Draco. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and shot a look of absolute loathing at Draco.

"This had better be good Malfoy." said Hermione. 

"Oh, believe me, it is Granger." Then Draco began to tell her his story. He told her everything. "After the whole Dumbledore incident, Snape tried to take me back to the Dark Lord, but at that point I wanted nothing to do with that bastard. So I ran away. I had no clue where to go or what to do, so I just traveled from place to place for a little while. Then I found Camp Shadow Rock. Tony took me in, and I was a C.I.T for two years, then a counselor for the next two. Then Tony told me he wanted to retire, and asked me if I would consider taking over C.S.R. I had nothing better to do with my life, and I love this camp a lot, so now I own it. This is my first year without Tony, so I called my friends Jessica, Sarah, Mark and Josh to come help me out. They suggested I ask you to come, so I did." 

"Whoa, wait. You're friends with Jessie, Sarah, Mark, and Josh?" Hermione asked in amazement.

"Yeah. They're pretty much the only friends I have, besides Blaise and that whole Slytherin crew, but I don't even know if any of my 'friends' are still alive."

Hermione gave a little chuckle. "It's not really funny, but Zambini probably isn't very happy at the present time, seeing as he's locked up in Azkaban for trying to kill Tonks. The curse missed her, but he got life in Azkaban for it." She said.

"Oh wow. I can't believe it. Well… actually I can, but it's still kind of hard to hear about one of your mates getting locked up. Do you know what happened to all of my old 'friends' like Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy?" Draco asked.

"Oh my god. You don't know anything about what happened in the war?" Draco shook his head.

"Nope."

"Well, it was a pretty brutal war. There were lots of casualties on both sides. The three people you mentioned- Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson- they're all dead, along with many other Death Eaters only a handful escaped, and a few of them are in Azkaban. There were losses on our side too. Four of the Weasleys, Mad-eye Moody, Kingsley Shackelbolt, and a lot of other people died." Hermione stopped, because tears were welling up in her eyes, and before she could blink them back, the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You okay Granger?" asked Draco. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's still a little hard to talk about what happened." She said wiping the tears away. "Is there anything else you want to know?" she asked, still sniffling a little.

"Well, do you know what happened to my parents, not really my father, but my mom?" Draco asked.

"Your father hasn't been captured. He's at large along with the Lestranges. As for your mother, I didn't see it happen, but I read in the Daily Prophet that she had died. I'm really sorry Malfoy." She told him. Suddenly, Draco stood up from his chair, startling Hermione. He walked over to the window. He wouldn't let her see his tears. He may have humbled himself to live with muggles, but he was a Malfoy, and he had to keep up his image and his composure.

"I bet you all my money in Gringotts it was my father's fault. He treated her like scum. It's even worse because he's still alive and running around with his lunatic comrades. Well off the subject of my god-forsaken father, how are your pals, Potter, Weasley, and Weasley's sister?" Draco asked.

"Well, Harry and Ginny are married with twins –"

"Well, no one saw that coming…" Draco said sarcastically.

"- and Ron, well, Ron is dead." Hermione finished her voice barely above a whisper. She didn't even hold back the tears. Draco saw how much the war had affected her. He just sat there silently watching her with a look of concern on his face.

"Stop trying to act all concerned Malfoy! Go ahead and say what you and I both know you want to say! YIPPEE, LET'S HAVE A BLOODY PARTY THE WEASEL KING IS DEAD!" shouted Hermione.

"I'm not that guy anymore Granger, so stop trying to make me out to be how I was is school. I may not be totally devastated that he's dead, but that doesn't mean that I'm happy about it!" said Draco.

"Don't pull that shit with me Malfoy! You NEVER liked Ron! You have no clue what it's like to lose someone that you love!"

"What about my mother Granger? I KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT IT FEELS LIKE! YOU DON'T KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH TO JUDGE ME, SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" yelled Draco.

"I regret that I ever came here! I HATE YOU MALFOY!" Hermione turned and ran out the door, slamming it behind her. She went through the woods to her secret spot. Tony had showed it to her. It was the hidden Rock that Camp Shadow Rock had been named after. There was a small rock sitting on top of a hill overlooking the lake. Not many people knew about it. Hermione had only come here one other time to think. It was the summer that she got her Hogwarts letter. She came to the rock to think about whether or not she should tell her friends that she was a witch. She of course told Sarah and Jessie, they are the only two muggle who know besides Hermione's parents that she's a witch.

She was now at the rock, wondering if she really should have come into the magical world in the first place. If she never would have gone into the magical world she never would be feeling the pain of loss and loneliness she was feeling now. Then again, she never would have met Ron. The thought of Ron once again invading her mind, she pulled her knees to her chest, and she began to cry.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Friends, New and Old

Hermione sat on the hill by the rock and watched the sunset. The beauty of a sunset never ceased to amaze her. The golden sun would fade beneath the clouds as the sky turned a gorgeous pink blended with the gold of the sun. Suddenly, she heard the bushed behind her rustling. She turned around as Malfoy came through the bushes and sat beside her.

"I guess Tony showed you his secret place too?" Draco asked.

"_Obviously,_ I'm here aren't I Malfoy?" snapped Hermione.

"He told me he only showed it to his favorite campers. He said it was a great place to come and think, and in time I have come to agree with him. It has helped me many times, when I needed to think." Draco said.

"Yeah, it's helped me loads to. It's just another thing about this camp that I love. You know there's only one place I love more than this camp, and that's Hogwarts. I really don't see myself going back there anytime soon though." She told him.

"Why?" 

"There are too many memories of Ron, Harry, and me. I'd probably become a complete mess and start crying at the drop of a hat like I used to, and I really don't want that to happen." Draco turned and looked at her, but she just continued to stare at the lake.

"I'm sorry about Weasley." Draco said.

"I'm sorry about your mum." Hermione replied.

"So we okay Granger?"

"I think so. You're a lot more tolerable then you used to be." She said, smiling. He smiled back at her. "Just as a warning, Harry might try to arrest you when he comes to visit in two weeks. So be on your best behavior so I can convince him you aren't some crazy Death Eater." She giggled at the look of absolute horror on Draco's face.

"You're kidding right?" he asked, still in shock of this newest revelation. 

"Haha, nope. Harry, Ginny, and the boys are coming to visit on family day. So be prepared."

"Malfoys are _always_ prepared Hermione. We need to get used to calling each other by first names, because if we go around calling each other Malfoy and Granger, people are going to know something's up. Just to let you know everyone knows me as Daniel, not Draco."

"Okay _Daniel_. God, that's going to take some getting used to." They both laughed. "So, let's get down to business. What cabin am I going to be in?"

"I'll let you pick. There are two new cabins, one boy and one girl, just to let you know." Draco said. 

"I already had my heart set on one cabin before I even got here." She told him.

"Which one?"

"The Blue Jay. It was the first cabin I stayed in when I started coming to thins camp. I love it."

"Let's go get your stuff and move you in then." Said Draco. The two of them went to the office to get Hermione's bags, and then they headed up past the mess hall, across the field, and into the wooded area where the cabins were located. The cabins were in a circle with a small area with picnic tables in the middle. Closest to the mess hall were the boy's cabins (what a surprise); there were three cabins, the Eagle cabin, the Hawk cabin, and the Sparrow cabin. Opposite from the boy's cabins, across the picnic area were the three girl's cabins, the Blue jay cabin, the Cardinal cabin, and the Hummingbird cabin.

When Hermione entered the Blue Jay cabin, it was the same as she remembered it. The counselor bunk bed was by the door (to make sure the campers didn't take any unauthorized strolls around camp at night). Then there were six rooms, each with two bunk beds in them, for the campers. There were also two bathrooms. Hermione couldn't help but laugh a little when she saw that there were still stains on the wall from when the boys had attacked their cabin with shaving cream, and there was still toilet paper in one of the light fixtures from when the boys had tipied the inside of their cabin back in the summer after third year, before the World Cup. Hermione had then realized that she was home.

**June 30th, noon**

Hermione was in the office with Draco finishing up some last minute things like cabin assignments, camper health forms, and other things. Everyone was supposed to arrive any minute now. Just then she heard the sound of cars coming up the gravel road.

"I'll go and welcome everyone. I'll look to the office and then you can pop out and surprise everyone." Draco said, smiling at her. "Don't forget, I'm Daniel, not Draco."

"Got it." She said as he walked out the door. Hermione went over to the window in time to see Jessie and Sarah get out of Josh's car.

"DANNY!" Sarah and Jessie both screamed when they saw Draco. They both Ran over and engulfed him in a hug that almost knocked him over. Then Josh came over and gave Draco a hug.

"Nice to see you Danny." said Josh. Then not a minute later Mark pulled up and came over to the group of friends. He also gave Draco a hug. Hermione could see that the friends were chatting happily, as they all had huge smiles on their faces. Then Draco looked over and pointed at the office. Hermione took that as her cue. She came out of the office. When Jessica, Sarah, Josh, and Mark saw Hermione their faces lit up. Of course, Sarah and Jessie were the most excited.

"JAY!" they squealed in happiness as they ran over to Hermione. Mark and Josh weren't far behind. They gave her a bone crushing hug, literally, as they slammed into her, knocking to three of them to the ground. All of the girls just laughed and hugged each other. "We missed you!" Jessie and Sarah said together.

"I missed you all too!" Hermione said. Then Josh, Mark, and Draco came over to help the girls up off the ground. Josh and Mark each gave Hermione a hug as well.

"I've heard some very exciting news about you guys. So what I want first, is to see the rings!" Hermione said. Jessie and Sarah each held up their left hands. "OH. MY.GOSH! They are gorgeous! Josh and Nathan have good taste, for guys." Everyone laughed at Hermione's comment. Hermione was so happy for her best friends. "Have you all set a date yet?" she asked.

"No, not yet." Sarah said. 

"Now that Hermione has had her questions answered, it's our turn." Jessie said with a smile. "How are you and Ron? I remember the last letter I got from you; you couldn't shut up about him!" Jessie asked with a giggle. Hermione's face fell, and Draco had a look on his face that said 'Oh no'. They all waited for her reply, but instead she started running towards the trail that Draco knew led to the rock.

"I'll go get her. Can you guys stay here and wait for everyone else to come?" The four of them nodded as Draco took off up the trail into the woods.

Hermione was up by the rock, again. Draco came running through the bushes. "Can't you go _five seconds_ without crying Hermione?" Draco asked sarcastically.

"I'm not crying you prat. I'm just thinking." She said.

"What's the big deal with Weasley? He died THREE years ago! I know he was your best friend and all, but get over it already! Not to be a mean prat or anything, but for Merlin's sake, this is getting annoying!" He told her. Hermione just turned and looked at him.

"Never in a million years would I believe that Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin and son of Lucius Malfoy, would be talking sense into, and comforting Hermione Granger, the know-it-all muggleborn Gryffindor. It's very comical if you think about it." She said chuckling a little. "I never thought I would be telling you of all people this but, here goes. Ron wasn't just my best friend. He was almost my fiancé." She told him. Draco sat down beside her.

"I'm really sorry. Just think of it this way, he probably wants more for you than you mourning him forever. So why don't you just move on?" he asked. 

"I know I should move on, it's just hard. The fact that we could've been engaged makes it even harder, because now my thoughts are constantly focused on what could have been. The night Voldemort killed him; I found a ring inside of his robes. After that, I just became numb to the world around me. I went and lived as a muggle for three years, trying to get as far from my memories of him as I could, to escape the wizarding world. I guess great minds think alike, huh?" Hermione said smiling at Draco.

"I guess so. So are you going to tell Jessie, Sarah, Mark, and Josh? They're really worried you know."

"I have to, they're my best friends, and they need to know. Can I ask a favor?" she asked. 

"Sure, shoot." Draco said.

"Will you come with me to tell them? Last time I told people about Ron, I was really nervous, and then I kind of had a small breakdown." She said. 

"_You_ had a breakdown? That's **unbelievable**!" Draco said smirking at Hermione. They both stood up, starting to walk back to camp.

"Shove it, Malfoy!" Hermione said hitting him on the arm.

"Ow! That hurt! The name calling and the punch." Draco said rubbing his arm. "That slap back in third year was worse though! I never knew you had it in you!"

"That was one of the best days of my life!" she said laughing at him. 

"Alright, that's enough reminiscing about our good ol' Hogwarts days. We're almost back at camp. Are you ready?" Draco asked. Before Hermione could answer, Draco did something that shocked her. He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Yeah, I think I am." Hermione replied. Together they walked back to the picnic area; Hermione was now feeling a little more confident, knowing Draco was with her.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Brain fart?

After getting all of the other counselors into their cabins: Hermione and Sarah in the Blue Jay, Jessica and Allison in the Cardinal, Megan and Trisha in the Hummingbird, Josh and Mark in the Hawk, Andrew and James in the Sparrow, and Philip and Kevin in the Eagle, the six friends went and sat in the living room of Draco's cabin to talk.

"Spill Jay!" Jessica said before she even sat down.

"Was there a horrible nasty break up?" Sarah asked expectantly.

"Did he cheat on you?" Jessie said scandalously.

"If he hurt you, I'll kill him!" Mark said.

"Let her breathe!" Josh said being the voice of reason. They all turned and looked at Hermione.

"Well, Mark, I don't think you'll have to kill Ron reason being he's already dead. Jessica and Sarah gasped, and amazingly they said nothing. They knew Hermione well enough to tell that this was a hard thing for her to talk about, mostly judging from earlier when she ran off. Draco discreetly reached over and took her hand; Hermione turned and gave him a small smile.

Jessie and Sarah were openly letting the tears fall down their faces, while Mark and Josh solemnly sat and stared at the wall opposite them. Very quietly Jessie and Sarah came over and they both gave Hermione a hug. Jessie whispered, "I'm so sorry Jay." Hermione gave her a small nod. Mark came over and gave Hermione a hug and a kiss on the forehead, and Josh came over and gave her a hug.

"We're going to go finish unpacking all of our stuff and we'll see you at dinner okay?" Josh said.

"All right, I'll see you guys at dinner." Hermione answered. The four of them turned and left the cabin, leaving Draco and Hermione alone.

"Are you going to be okay Hermione?" Draco asked.

"Yeah I think I'll be okay, and that means you can let go of my hand Draco." She said smiling at him.

"Oh, okay." He said letting go of her hand. "So are you going to tell them how Weasley died?" he asked.

"No. That part they don't need to know. It would probably worry them more, you know?"

"Yeah, I understand what you mean." Draco stopped and looked over at Hermione. "Seriously, are you sure you're okay because you don't look okay to me."

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"I'm fine." She said getting a little irritated with him.

"Are you sure? You're saying that so much it doesn't even sound like a word anymore." He said, beginning to snicker a little bit.

"SHUT UP MALFOY! I AM FINE!" she screamed at him. Draco cracked and started laughing at Hermione. She glared at him, but she couldn't help it. His laughter was infectious. She began to laugh along with him. Soon they were both clutching their sides, trying to breathe. Through his laughter Draco said," I can't help it; you're so funny when you're mad."

"Well you can just… I mean…BUGGER!" Hermione said frustrated. Draco started laughing even harder.

"I never thought I would see the say when the greatest witch of the age Hermione Granger had a brain fart!" Draco said howling with laughter.

"Brain fart? What are you five-years-old Draco? What sane person over the age of 15 says brain fart?" she asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"A person who lives and works with kids for a living, of course."

"I never knew you liked kids so much because you were such a bully in school." 

"What can I say, I grew up!"

"Well I guess you did."

"Draco you need to be careful about the talking about magic... only Jessie and Sarah know, and we're kind of working at a muggle camp." she told him.

"I've been here for 5 years Hermione, I know." he replied. They talked for a little while longer and before they knew it, it was time for dinner. They walked down to the Mess Hall where everyone else was just getting in and sitting down for dinner. When they entered the Mess Hall, Hermione and Draco went and sat down where she had always remembered Tony sitting down for meals. Jessie and Sarah came over and sat down with them. Once everyone was seated Draco stood up. 

"I'm really glad you all came out to C.S.R to be counselors this summer. Tomorrow all of the campers will be arriving, and then the fun begins! I'll give my big long lecture when the campers come tomorrow, so for not let's eat! Wait, lastly, I just wanted to say that I hope that this year is less _sticky _than last year. Right?" When Draco finished that last comment the Hall erupted in laughter, but it quickly died down as people began to go up and get their dinner. The table closest to the food, Table 1, went up first. So Hermione turned to talk to Draco.

"Hey Daniel, what was that last sticky joke about?" she asked. Everyone at the table started snickering, and Draco looked a little irritated and slightly unamused.

"Last year on the last day of camp, the counselors thought that it would be funny to play a little prank on me. So when I wasn't looking, they put a plate of pancakes on my seat. Now half of the campers call me Mr. Maple." Draco said in a sort of monotone voice. Everyone was smiling but they knew better than to laugh. After about 45 minutes, everyone had finished eating and they began to head back to their cabins. Draco left with Hermione and walked her to the Blue Jay cabin.

"Well, here we are milady." Draco said. Motioning towards the cabin very dramatically. Causing a smile to appear on Hermione's face.

"Draco, I want to thank you for all that you've done for me this past week. You've helped me so much, especially letting me come back here. I really appreciate it." She said to Draco. He smiled at her.

"No problem Hermione. I know it was hard for you to tell them about Weasley, and even seeing me here with our not so good history together. Just remember what I've said, I'm not the same kid I was in school. So if you ever need anything, I'm here for you." He said. Hermione looked at him, and with happy tears in her eyes, she gave him a hug.

"Thank you Draco."

"Anytime Hermione." They stood together, locked in their embrace, both of them being comforted by the presence of the other. Unknown to them, Sarah and Jessie were in the Blue Jay cabin waiting for Hermione. They looked out the window just in time to see Hermione reach over to hug Draco.

"Did they know each other before?" Jessie asked Sarah.

"I don't think so. She wasn't here when Draco started working here at C.S.R." Jessie and Sarah turned to look at each other, both a little confused and suspicious.

"We'll talk about it later, and maybe we'll ask her but for now act natural, here she comes." They both plopped down on Hermione's bed and acted like they had been waiting for her, and not spying. Hermione came through the door, a smile plainly plastered on her face, all traces of tears no longer there. Seeing Jessie and Sarah on her bed Hermione said "Guys, can we talk tomorrow, I don't really feel up to it tonight." Hermione said to her two friends.

"Sure Jay. We just wanted to make sure that you were okay." They asked. 

"Yeah, I actually am okay, now." She replied softly, Draco's kind word replaying in her mind.

"Well, I'll see you two in the morning then!" Jessie said. She left to go back to her cabin after giving Sarah and Hermione hugs. Sarah then climbed up on to the top bunk.

"Night, Hermione."

"Night, Sarah." Hermione turned out the lights and drifted off to sleep, where her new "friend" found his way into her dreams.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Baby is this love for real?

Hermione woke up very early the next morning, 6 a.m. to be exact, because today was the day she had been anticipating. Today the campers and C.I.T.s arrived. Sarah was still asleep when Hermione hopped into the shower. This was the last time she would be able to take a long shower because it was just the two of them, but when the campers arrived, it was 4 minute showers for everyone.  
When Hermione was done in the shower, she turned on her music and began to sing along with one of her favorite songs. Hermione knew Sarah would probably be mad at her, but she went over and started singing really loudly right next to Sarah's head anyway:

_Baby is this love for real? __  
__Let me in your arms to feel __  
__Your beating heart baby, __  
_**_The beating of your heart baby_**

She yelled the last line right next to her ear. Sarah shot straight up and banged her head on the ceiling, forgetting that she was sleeping on the top bunk of the bed, and the ceilings were low.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU HERMIONE!?" she screeched rubbing the top of her head.

"Oh relax. It was just a joke. You need to wake up anyway, because it's quarter til seven." Hermione said still holding back her laughter.

"BUGGER! You know I like to take long showers! Why didn't you wake me earlier?" Hermione just gave Sarah an evil smile.

"I'll see you at breakfast Sarah. I'm going to go see Daniel." She said walking out of the door. Sarah stood in the cabin, still confused at why Hermione and Daniel were so close.

"I think Jess and I are going to need Josh and Mark to figure this one out." She said quietly to herself.

Meanwhile, Hermione had reached Draco's cabin. The night before he had given her a key so she could see him whenever she needed. She entered the cabin, and sat on the couch in his lining room.

"Draco, are you in here?" she called out.

"Yeah, give me a second; I just got out of the shower." About 30 seconds later he walked out of his room, and he was still putting on his shirt. Hermione got a pretty good look at his six pack. 'Draco's kind of hot' she thought to herself.

"Hey Draco."

"Yes." He replied.

"What do you do out here all the time when no one else is here? I mean there's no Quidditch or anything." She asked Draco.

"I just hike a lot. I have lots of time to just think, really. I do miss the flying though. It was my favorite thing to do. And just to ask, I can't talk about magic but you can? Because you just broke your own rule talking about Quidditch." He told her.

"Well, there are no muggles around, so we can talk about magic. I thought you knew that was what I meant. I thought your brain was a bit bigger than a troll's Draco." Hermione replied coolly.

"Uh oh, I think that little brain fart yesterday is wearing off. Or maybe not, because you can't honestly compare me to a troll. I've read Hogwarts a History at least 5 times, I had the best grades in Slytherin, and, don't forget, I'm no where near as ugly as a troll. I also saw your face when I walked into the living room this morning." He smiled and turned to go back into his room to finish getting ready. She sat in the chair even more embarrassed that he had noticed her watching him. Hopefully he didn't notice how much she was blushing! She checked her watch and noticed that there was about 45 minutes until breakfast, so she sat down on the couch and began to read a book.

About 40 minutes later, Draco came out and saw Hermione lying on the couch reading. "Nice to see you're still a bookworm, Hermione."

"Says the man that read Hogwarts a History five times? I believe you've been a member of the dorky bookworm club for a while. Besides, didn't you know that reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body?" Hermione told him.

"O goodness! She's back and using analogies!" Hermione grinned and closed her book.

"Why don't we head down to breakfast?" she asked.

"Sounds good, ladies first." He opened the door for Hermione and followed her outside. The walk down to the Mess Hall was filled with comfortable silence. Draco and Hermione were stealing glances at each other when they thought that the other wasn't looking. When their eyes met, they both turned away in embarrassment because they had been caught. When they reached the Mess Hall they both sat down where they had the previous night. After breakfast Draco and Hermione went back to his cabin, while Jessie and Sarah went to have a chat with Mark and Josh.

In the Hawk Cabin...

"Have you guys noticed anything weird between Hermione and Daniel?" Jessie asked the two boys.

"You mean how they're really close even though they've never met?" Mark asked.

"YES! EXACTLY! When did you notice it?" Sarah asked.

"Did you not see him take her hand when she was telling us about Ron?" Josh pointed out to the girls.

"HE WHAT!?" Jessie exclaimed.

"Yeah, when she was crying he reached over and took her hand. Maybe you guys were so upset that you didn't notice it…" Mark said.

"Well, I saw them hugging, and he pretty much walks her too the cabin every night." Sarah told the group. They all exchanged suspicious glances and thought about this newest revelation.

"I want to figure out why they're so close." Jessie added.

"Me too. I mean are they dating, are they just friends, have they met before or…" Sarah paused and her eyes grew wide. "or they went to school together." Jessie and Sarah both thought this might be a possible answer, but they weren't going to tell Mark and Josh.

"Well, lets just keep digging around and we probably will be able to figure this one out. If anything new happens, we'll meet up again, okay?"

"Agreed." They said together.

Meanwhile…

"Oh, there is no way you never dated Parkinson! She was practically attached to you at the hip!" Hermione said laughing at Draco.

"We never dated! She was just obsessed with me! She loved my money; she was a little slutty gold digger!" He told Hermione.

"WOW! That's unbelievable! The Slytherin house whore, a gold digger? Who would have guessed that!"

"Enough sarcasm Hermione, it really doesn't suit you. SO what was up with you and Krum?" Hermione sighed.

"Oh for the love of Merlin! Why does everyone bring him up! IT. WAS. JUST. A. FLING. All we did was go to the Yule Ball together."

"Okay, Okay, don't lay a dragon egg. Ah, the Yule Ball, you looked quite stunning back then, if I must say." Draco said.

"Yeah, and it took me three blasted hours to get ready. I'd never do that again if you paid me!" Hermione paused for a second. "I thought you hated me back then Draco. Why would you care if I looked stunning or not?" she asked. Draco did something Hermione had never seen him do; he blushed.

"Well, I didn't care then, but I care now." He turned to face her, and their eyes locked. Slowly their faces drew closer and closer together. Just as their lips were about to meet, there was a knock at the door.

"DANIEL! THE FIRST CAMPERS ARE ARRIVING!" Philip shouted.

"COME ON HERMIONE, YOU TOO! EVERYONE'S WAITING!" Allison yelled.

"We're coming." Draco said. He then turned to Hermione. "We'll talk later. Let's go and welcome the campers." She nodded in reply and reached for the doorknob. Before she could reach it, Draco grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a quick kiss. It was just short and sweet, but Hermione's lips were slightly tingling from the feeling of his lips on hers. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Wordlessly, they exited the cabin and made their way down to the office where the campers were now arriving.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you all are enjoying the story so far!! The chapters also get longer from this point forward... (pretty much) Things also begin to really pick up after this chapter :**

The song is Beating Heart Baby by Head Automatica.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Past Memories and the Future

Draco and Hermione reached the hill near the main office where cars were beginning to pull into the parking lot. Campers were getting out of their cars; most of them seeing their friends for the first time since last summer. Girls could be heard squealing when they saw their friends, and everywhere you turned you could see campers and staff giving their friends hugs. Draco made his way down to his office, but Hermione stayed put. He turned around.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be down in a second." She replied smiling at him. He smiled back and continued on his way to greet the campers and their families. Hermione stood on the hill and watched the happy scene before her. It made her miss Harry, Ginny, and the twins even more. She couldn't wait until they visited in two weeks. Looking down at the people arriving, Hermione saw some familiar faces. Two to be exact. Ben Walker and Callie Waters had just driven up and parked. Hermione ran down the hill at top speed toward where they were just getting out of their car.

"Callie! Ben!" she yelled, hoping to get their attention. Ben saw her first.

"Bloody Hell, is that you Hermione?" she nodded and he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Budge over Walker, she's my friend too!" the very bold Callie Waters said, pushing Ben out of the way.

"Well, I definitely don't think I can call you frizz ball anymore, Jay!" Callie said looking at her now tame hair, and then giving her a hug.

"Good gracious, I definitely can't call you midget anymore! You're a good 3 inches taller than me now!" All three of them laughed.

Callie and Ben were two campers that Hermione had gotten close to back in her days at C.S.R. Callie and Ben had just started their first year at C.S.R. when Hermione was 13. Neither Ben nor Callie knew anyone at the camp, and they were both very shy. (Unbelievably in Callie's case) So that year, Hermione introduced them to each other. They had been inseparable since.

"We should probably go sign in and tell Danny we're here." Ben said to Callie.

"Hold your horses! I HAVE to tell Hermione the news!" Ben rolled his eyes.

"What news!?" Hermione asked impatiently. Callie held up her left hand.

"OH MY GOD!! YOU GUYS TOO!?" Hermione screamed. Everyone who was outside turned and looked at Hermione after her outburst. They soon turned and went back to their own conversations.

"Who else is engaged?" Ben asked.

"Josh and Jessie, and Sarah and her fiancé Nathan." Ben and Callie's eyes grew wide.

"Well, I think you probably should go see Daniel. It looks like that's about all of the campers." Hermione said leading the way inside. After everyone was signed in, and had dropped their stuff off in their cabins, Draco stood up on a picnic table in the area in the middle of all the cabins.

"It's time for dinner, so why doesn't everyone start heading down to the Mess Hall." He said. The mob of campers and staff began to make their way down to the Mess Hall. Once everyone had gotten in and found a seat, Draco stood up once again.

"I would like to welcome everyone back to this new year at Camp Shadow Rock! I would like to give a special welcome to all of our new campers, and a welcome back to all of our returning campers. I have just a couple announcements before you all can go up and get some grub. (that comment got a few snickers from the campers) I would like to explain what going on after dinner. Tonight we're going to play a game of capture the flag! (all of the campers cheered) Everyone will be divided into two teams, and the camp grounds will be divided into two sides, the main dividing line being on the field. I hope everyone brought their best game! The directions pertaining to your activities tomorrow will be given tomorrow morning. Now table 1 can go up and get their food. Everyone else follow in order of table number. Enjoy your meal." As Draco was sitting down one of the campers yelled, "GREAT SPEECH MR.MAPLE!" The Mess Hall erupted with laughter, and Draco glared at all of the staff. After he sat down, Draco turned and looked at Hermione. She was looking at him oddly.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah, it's just that when you gave that speech, you kind of reminded me of Dumbledore." She whispered to him, smiling. Draco laughed and took her hand under the table. She smiled even wider.

After everyone had finished eating, they all went out to the field to play capture the flag. The staff divided the campers into teams, and then divided themselves. Hermione, Sarah, Jessica, Mark, Josh, and Andrew were on the red team along with Ben and Callie. Allison, Megan, Trisha, James, Philip, Kevin, and Daniel were on the green team. Daniel blew the whistle and campers could be seen running across the dividing line, attempting to go and find the other team's flag. Many of them were getting caught and sent to the other team's 'jail', while others had managed to evade their opponents.

When Hermione thought she had a chance, she ran over to the green team's side trying to help her team find the flag. She didn't get very far before she was tagged by Draco.

"GOTCHA!" He said.

"Crap." she responded.

"Come on, you get to go to jail." He sad taking her hand. "It won't be so bad. I have to escort you to jail, so you can hold my hand and no one will think anything of it." He said smirking at her.

"Who said I wanted to hold your hand?" she said, jerking her hand out of his and running back toward the red team's side.

"HEY! I tagged you!" he yelled chasing after her. He caught up to her and lifted her up off the ground, and then throwing her over his shoulder.

"DANIEL MARTIN! YOU PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

"Hey, you're the one who had to be difficult." He replied coolly. All of a sudden, cheers could be heard from the red team, as Mark and Josh came running across the line with the green team's flag.

"GAME OVER! WE WIN!" Josh yelled. Draco then put Hermione down, and went over to the center of the field.

"All right everyone! That was a great game, but now it's time to go and head up to the cabins so everyone can get to unpack, and kind of talk with your cabin mates before lights out!" Draco said. Everyone turned and migrated toward the cabins, excited to talk with their friends and set up their rooms. Draco and Hermione walked very slowly behind everyone else. Once everyone was out of sight, they held hands and took a walk through the woods, just to be alone. When they reached the cabin area, about half an hour later, everyone was inside.

"Thanks for walking me up here Draco." She thanked him quietly.

"No problem." He said.

"I'll see you in the morning." She said to him. She kissed him on the cheek, and then turned to go into the cabin.

"Hermione wait!" he called out. She turned and walked back to where he was standing, giving him her full attention. "Um, I saw that both of us have a free day on Saturday, and I was wondering if you wanted to spend the day with me, and kind of just go places and stuff?" he asked timidly. Hermione smirked a little at his shyness. Then she thought about what he was doing. He was asking her out, like an actual date! Was she ready for that?

"Draco, I need a little time to think. Could I give you and answer in the morning?" she asked.

"That's fine with me." He replied. He gave her a hug and she went inside.

Draco knew that this was going to be a little weird for her, but he liked her, a lot. The more he got to know about her, the more his interest in her grew. He knew that they didn't have the best history, and that the whole he and Harry being sworn enemies thing was going to be more than a bump in the road in their relationship. He also needed to think about some things, so he headed up to Tony's secret spot.

Hermione entered the cabin and flopped down on her bed. She let out a sigh. Life was so complicated. She loved Ron, but now she was starting to have feelings for his biggest enemy, not to mention his family's enemy. Harry Potter is her best friend, and she's starting to fall for the one wizard he hates almost as much as Voldemort! She pulled out her CD player in an attempt to relax, because music always calmed her down. After a while, one of the songs came on that cause many memories to flash before her eyes…

**Hermione was sitting with Harry and the Weasleys at Ron's funeral. Mrs. Weasley could be heard sobbing quietly as Mr. Weasley held her. All of Ron's brothers were silent, and trying to appear strong, even though they all were as grief-stricken as their mother. Hermione sat, tear stains very visible on her face, and to her it felt like they would be there forever. She felt as if no one would be able to make the pain within her heart stop…

* * *

**

**Hermione walked up to his coffin. She gazed upon his face and saw more tears welling up behind her eyes. Harry tried to come with her, but she felt as if this was something that she had to do alone. His hair was still as red as ever, and the funeral home had done a good job of fixing him up. She realized she would never look into his bright blue eyes and see him looking back at her lovingly. She would never see his ears flood with color when he was embarrassed. She would never feel his kiss or his touch ever again. She touched his face one last time, and then turned and walked away. She didn't look back…

* * *

**

The bad memories weren't the only things to come to mind, she remembered happy things as well.

**"Hermione, wait! I have to tell you something." she looked at him expectantly. "Will you go out with me?" he said shyly. **

**"Really? I didn't think you liked me like that! Of course I will!" she said. **

**"Well, okay if you don't want to... WHAT! You will!" he asked, astonished at her answer. **

**"Yes, because I love you! I've loved you for I don't know how long. You were always there, and even though we fought, there was always something about you that I loved. I love being the one you turn to for help, even though I may come off as annoyed. I just love being around you because you give me that warm fuzzy feeling inside." she said smiling. **

**"I never thought I would hear you say that! I love you too. I love everything about you. You're smart, sweet, and beautiful. You're everything I've ever wanted. If I ever lost you I don't know what I would do. You're one of the things that make my life worth living; every morning I wake up thinking of when I get to see you. You were always there for me, in more ways then you'll ever know, and I love you." Hermione ran into Ron's arms and whispered "I love you, too" in his ear…

* * *

**

**It was a cold Christmas Eve. The wind was howling and the clean white snow was falling slowly inch by inch as Hermione Granger looked out the window of her small flat just outside of London. It was a beautiful day, but the tears were slowly running down her freckly pink cheeks. Christmas was always a hard time for her after the last battle. Voldemort had been gone for 3 years, but the thought of that fateful day always brought tears to her eyes…

* * *

**

**Hermione and Ron were laying outside on the Hogwarts' grounds by the lake. They were watching the clouds pass by, and enjoying their last day together at Hogwarts. **

**"Hermione, I need you to promise me something." Ron said to Hermione. **

**"Sure anything." She said looking at him with a very concerned look on her face. **

**"Harry, you, and I are going off to get rid of the most evil wizard on the planet. I don't have such a great feeling about all this. So I want you to promise that whatever happens to me, know that I love you, and I want what's best for you. So no matter what you do, always be happy, for me, okay?" Hermione's eyes began to well up with tears and she gave Ron a hug. **

**"You can't go into this thinking like that Ron…" **

**"Promise me!" He said to her forcefully. **

**"I promise." She said.

* * *

** As soon as the song ended, Hermione jumped out of her bed. It was just then that she noticed that the lights were out, and everyone was asleep. She quietly picked up her hoodie and without a sound, she exited the cabin to go see Draco. Unknown to Hermione, Sarah had seen her leave and went to follow her. Hermione made her way to Draco's cabin, but when she entered it, there was no one there. So she went to the next place she thought he could be, the secret spot. 

She followed the path up to the rock. When she got there, she saw platinum blonde hair shining in the moonlight. He was lying on the grass right next to the rock. She quietly went over and sat next to him. When he didn't move, she noticed that he was asleep.

"Draco." She whispered.

"Draco." She said a little louder.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, wake up!" she said louder.

Behind the bushes, Sarah was in complete shock. If that was Daniel's real name, he probably did go to Hogwarts.

At the sound of his entire name, Draco shot straight up and looked around. He was very panicky. When he saw Hermione he relaxed.

"Bloody Hell, Hermione! For a second I thought that you were my father! You scared the shit out of me!" he told her. Hermione had to suppress a giggle.

"Sorry, I just wanted to talk to you." She said.

"In the middle of the night?"

"Yeah."

"Well, go on!" he said.

"Well, to answer your question earlier, I would love to spend Saturday with you!" she said giving him the biggest smile that she could. His eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning. He stood up and pulled her into a huge hug.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really." She replied. Their eyes met for the second time that day, and he took her face in his hands. He pulled her lips to his, and when their lips met, it was like magic. She slid her arms around his neck, and his settled on her hips. They stood together in the moonlight, not realizing that every moment they were together their love grew.

Sarah was once again in absolute shock at the sight of them kissing in the moonlight. She felt out of place, and silently made her way back to the blue jay cabin. She went in and lay on her bed, only thinking of what the others would think about this.

Draco and Hermione had parted, and began to make their way down the trail from the rock. They walked hand in hand to the Blue Jay cabin.

"Hopefully Sarah hasn't noticed that I was gone." Hermione said to Draco.

"Yeah, that would not be too good." he replied.

"Well here we are." She said. Hermione turned and gave Draco a peck on the lips. "I'll see you in the morning. Why don't you meet me at the picnic tables about 30 minutes before breakfast starts?" she asked.

"That sounds great. Well, Goodnight, Hermione."

"Goodnight." She turned and silently entered the cabin and slipped into her bed. She drifted off to sleep feeling happier then she had felt in years. She was beginning to accept the past, and move forward with her life. The memories no longer pained her as they used to, and she could think more about her future, and how Draco Malfoy was slowly becoming a part of it.

A/N: The parts in bold are different snippets of things from Hermione's past. Just to let you know :


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Exiting first day of camp

Hermione woke up at about 6:45 the next morning, which was Monday, the first day of camp. She took a quick shower, and then she began to wake up Sarah and the other campers. 

"Rise and shine! It's a beautiful first morning of camp!" Hermione yelled throughout the cabin.

"Is it morning already?" Sarah asked groggily.

"Yup! Now get up, I've got to go meet Daniel in about 20 minutes." Hermione told Sarah. 

"God, you spend a lot of time with him. Are Jessie, Josh, Mark, and I going to get to spend anytime with you this summer?" 

"Well, he's my friend, just like you." Hermione replied. Sarah raised her eyebrow at this statement.

"Is that all? Because I heard someone get back into the cabin really late last night."

"Yes, we're just friends, that's all. I was just up helping him with some last minute paperwork last night. I plan on spending a lot more time with you guys, I promise." Hermione said.

"Sounds good. I'll get these girls to breakfast, and you go meet your, 'friend' Daniel." Sarah said using finger quotes for the work "friend". She gave Hermione a hug, and then Hermione turned and went out the door. When she got outside, she saw Draco sitting on the picnic table, smiling brightly. She walked over to him.

"You look so very happy this morning." Hermione said.

"Why shouldn't I be happy after last night? I got a very beautiful woman to go out with me. Didn't you hear? Besides, I'm a morning person." He said smiling even bigger. Hermione laughed.

"Don't ever act this perky in the morning around Sarah. She hates people that like getting up early, especially me." Hermione told him.

"Well, I like morning persons, especially you." Draco said leaning in to give Hermione a kiss. She stopped him.

"No, remember, not in public!" she hissed at him. "I think Sarah's already suspicious of our relationship. She asked me why I got in so late. I think it would be best to go wait for everyone by the basketball court. No one will be down there for at least another half an hour." She said grinning. Draco hopped up and started down to the court, Hermione was following close behind.

"Why don't we just tell them that we're dating? Won't they be happy for us?" he asked.

"Yes, but that little bit of information will lead to a lot of awkward questions. They're going to want to know how we got so close to each other and all that stuff. They think that we just met. Sarah and Jess know about Hogwarts, but Mark and Josh don't, and I don't fancy telling them about all of this magic stuff. At least not yet." She said. Draco put his arm around her waist, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"All right. But we have to tell them sometime, love." He told her.

"Yeah, I know. I'm thinking of telling them when Harry and Ginny come. Get it all over with at once." Draco nodded. They sat together for a little while. Then Draco interrupted the comfortable silence.

"I know this is random, but do you want to see the activity sign up sheets?" Draco asked. Hermione laughed.

"Sure." They walked into the Mess Hall where the sheets were posted. The sign-up sheets had each activity and slots where the campers would write their names. The campers would sign up for 3 activities a day. There was rock climbing, hiking, archery, arts and crafts, CLC games (indoor), nature center, field games(soccer, kickball, etc.), and basketball court games. The activities would rotate each day, and the campers would do some activities more than one time.

Everyday there were some activities that were the same. The set activities were FOB (flat on bunk) which was time to just lie around the cabin or take a nap after lunch. There was also lake time and a camp game everyday. The schedule was as follows:

8:00-9:00: Breakfast   
9:05-10:35: Activity 1  
10:40-12:10: Activity 2  
12:15- 1:15: Lunch  
1:20-2:20: FOB  
2:30-4:00: Lake Time  
4:15-5:45: Activity 3  
6:00-7:00: Dinner  
7:05-8:30: Camp Game   
8:35-10:00: Free Time (They could be outside of the cabins)   
11:00: Lights out

The hour between Free Time and lights out was time to be in the cabin and just chill, take showers, or get ready for bed. Every Friday night, there was a small party for everyone in the CLC. There would be snacks and music, so everyone could get a chance to unwind at the end of the week. That night everyone, counselors included, would have a big sleepover in the CLC. On Saturday, Half of the campers and staff would go into the city for the day, while the others stayed at camp and pretty much had free time the whole day.

"A lot of new stuff has been added since I was last here." Hermione said.

"Yeah. Tony and I added a lot of new stuff. The nature center and the rock climbing are two of the things that we just added, as well as the trip into the city." He told her.

"That is so cool." Hermione said smiling at him. Draco then looked around and realized most of the camp was at the court.

"Well, I think everyone's here, so I'm going to send them in to breakfast." Draco said.

"Go ahead, Mr. Maple." Hermione said giggling. Draco gave her a fake glare and then walked over into the center of the basketball court. 

"Everyone can head on into the Mess Hall to sit down for breakfast!" He yelled. All of the campers and staff began to file into the Mess Hall. Once everyone was seated, Draco stood up.

"Good morning, everyone! Today is a wonderful first day of camp. Before you all eat, I would like to give some directions. Every morning, you all will need to sign up for your activities for the day. Once you sign up today, your activities will rotate. That's it for now, so the first table can go up and get their breakfast." He said before he sat back down.

Breakfast flew by, and soon all of the campers were rushing up to the sign up sheets so that they could all get activities with their friends. Hermione and Mark had archery, Megan and Trisha had arts and crafts, Ben and Callie had CLC games, Jessie, Josh, and Allison were in the nature center, James and Sarah ran the field games, and Kevin, Andrew and Philip were in charge of the court games. Draco just walked around and helped wherever he could.

After the first two activities everyone went to lunch and ate their fill. When all of the campers and staff went to FOB, they were wiped out so everyone was taking a nap. After an hour, the counselors went around and woke up their campers so that they could get ready for lake time. After everyone was dressed, Hermione and Sarah began to walk their campers down to lake time. On the way down, Hermione and Sarah were remembering some of their days at C.S.R.

"Oh my gosh, do you remember the summer I forgot my swimsuit!?" Hermione asked. 

"Of course I do, that was hilarious. You had to wear your first two piece. That is one of my favorite memories!"

_**Flashback…**_

"THERE IS NO WAY I FORGOT MY SWIMSUIT!" Hermione yelled as she was frantically rummaging through her bag. Jessie and Sarah were sitting on their bunks laughing as Hermione was having her breakdown.

"You know Jessie and I always have extras, see?" Sarah said holding up a two piece swim suit.

"BLOODY HELL! There is now way I am wearing THAT!" Hermione yelled pointing at the swim suit. Sarah and Jessie had looks of shock on their faces. 

"Did you just curse Hermione!?" Jessie asked wide eyed. 

"No, of course not." Hermione replied sarcastically. Sarah threw the swim suit at Hermione.

"Put it on NOW, or we will tell Brian Jacobs that you have a crush on him." Sarah said.

"YOU WOULDN'T!" Hermione gasped.

"Oh, we would." Jessie replied. Hermione made a 'humph' sound as she marched into the bathroom. When Hermione came out, Sarah and Jessie smiled and cast glances at each other.

"Oh, all your one pieces are getting burned." Sarah said deviously.

"And one of us had better find a baseball bat." Jessie said.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"To beat the boys off of you, of course." Sarah told Hermione. All of the girls giggled as they linked arms and skipped down to the lake, proud of the new Hermione.

Hermione and Sarah laughed at the memory and reminded each other to tell Jessie the story, just to refresh her memory. Soon they had reached the lake. When they got there, everyone went off in their separate directions. The boys ran and jumped into the water, while a few of the girls went into the water, and the majority of them lay out on the grass. Lake time was over in the blink of an eye, and then everyone headed to their cabins to change for their last activity. After that last activity, the campers were more than ready for dinner. They all ate very quickly, as if they hadn't eaten in days.

The camp game for the afternoon was soccer, and that game didn't last very long. Some of the campers were very good at the game, and they all happened to be on the same team. The game was over pretty quickly, resulting in more free time. Most kids went back to their cabins to relax, while others walked around and spent time with their friends from other cabins.

On the walk back to her cabin, Hermione couldn't help but wonder where the girls in her cabin got their energy. While over half of the other campers were dragging, the Blue Jay girls seemed to have energy to spare. They were skipping, giggling, and singing. It was going to be a long night for Hermione and Sarah.

Hermione and Sarah collapsed onto their beds after changing into their nighttime clothes. Hermione was thinking about how fast the day flew by. Thinking back on her day, she realized how little she got to see Draco. The thoughts of the times that she did see him brought a smile to her face. It amazed her how just seeing his face made her happy. There was one specific time during the day that she remembered seeing him. It was during pool time, and the sight of his chiseled chest and muscles would forever be etched into her mind. She couldn't wait until Saturday! She then began to mentally slap herself. _"I have to stop thinking about him!" _she thought to herself while opening her eyes. When she looked around the cabin, she saw all of the girls sitting in a circle on the floor of the cabin. Sarah was sitting on her bunk watching them. Hermione then got up, and went over to see what they were doing.

"Truth or dare." Toni asked Olivia.

"Truth." Olivia answered, causing all of the girls to groan.

"No one ever picks dare!" Maddy whined.

"Okay, Liv, do you like Cody?" Toni asked. 

"Yes." Olivia said blushing. All of the girls squealed. When Hermione walked over, she noticed all of the girls giving each other looks. Then they all turned and looked at her.

"Truth or dare, Hermione?" a younger girl named Lyla asked. Hermione didn't answer right away, because she was scared of what the girls would ask. Then a voice sounding vaguely like Ron's yelled in the back of her head, _"Are you a Gryffindor or not!?"_

Hermione answered, "Dare." The girls all gave her devious smiles.

The simultaneously said, "We dare you to kiss Mr. Martin."

Hermione leaned against the wall and groaned.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Kiss and Tell

Hermione could not believe what she was about to do. She was on her way to Draco's cabin in the middle of the night because the girls in her cabin had dared her to kiss him. Hermione should have known that nothing good would have come out of the mouths' of those girls by the devious little looks on their faces. After she had accepted the dare, she learned that the girls had been trying to think of a good dare for her. Of course, the dare had to involve Daniel, and kissing him. Hermione was not thrilled when she heard what the dare was.

The campers didn't expect Hermione to do the dare, and neither did Sarah. They all were astounded when Hermione opened the door and said, "Well come on, let's go and get this over with!" Hermione then exited the cabin and started walking to his cabin. All of the girls gave each other shocked looks and they all quickly slipped on their shoes and ran after Hermione. The group silently made their way to Mr. Martin's cabin. When they got there, Sarah and the campers hid behind some bushes. The bushes were close enough to the cabin that they could make sure Hermione went along with the dare, but far enough away that they couldn't hear a word of what was being said. All of the girls waited with bated breath while Hermione walked up to knock on the door.

When she knocked on the door, Draco yelled from inside "Coming!" About a minute later he answered the door. "Hermione, why didn't you just use your key?" Hermione shushed him.

"I have to ask you to do something for me." She said.

"Anything, just name it."

"The girls were playing truth and dare, and I somehow ended up playing." Draco laughed at this. "The girls have dared me to kiss you." Hermione said trying to suppress a smile. 

"Well come here. I promise I don't have cooties." Draco said smiling. Hermione leaned in and kissed him, thinking she would only give him a peck on the lips, but Draco thought otherwise. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. The kiss deepened, and Hermione seemed to forget all about the campers and Sarah in the bushes. Only when Draco's tongue grazed her lip did she seem to snap back to reality. She broke the kiss and whispered, "I can't believe I forgot they were in the bushes!" Draco nodded.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning?" he asked.

"Yeah, but at breakfast. I'm going to help Sarah a bit more with the campers." She told him. He looked a little disappointed. "Well good night!"

"Night!" Hermione said walking back toward the bushes. When she got to the bushes, all of the girls were surprisingly silent. Everyone had looks of shock on their faces. Sarah looked the most shocked out of all of them. Then out of nowhere the girls jumped and squealed, and shot all types of questions and comments at Hermione.

"How was it?"

"Oh. My. Gosh! I can't believe you just did that!"

"I always thought he was hot. Did you like it?"

"What did you guys talk about, we couldn't hear anything!"

While Hermione was quieting down the girls, Sarah was trying to make sense of everything. Was Daniel just being a good sport, or did that kiss mean something? Probably the latter, Sarah thought. She hadn't forgotten their little get together last night, even though she hadn't told anyone yet. Sarah was also thinking of what the others would say. She definitely had to tell them what happened. They would probably freak out more than her! Sarah's thoughts were interrupted by Hermione. 

"All right everyone! We can talk about this back at the cabin, let's get moving." Hermione said, leading the girls down the path. Sarah ran up next to Hermione.

"What the bloody hell was that, Jay?" Sarah asked.

"It was a kiss Sarah, nothing more." Hermione told her calmly.

"It was more than a kiss! You guys were almost full out snogging on the steps!" Sarah hissed.

"Well, I guess he likes me or something. I'll have to ask him in the morning. I think you're right though, he was about to snog me in front of the poor little campers!" Hermione said in an overly girly voice. Sarah glared at her.

"I wasn't seeing any protests from you while he was about to snog you!" Sarah said loudly.

"Well, he was a very good kisser… Thinking about it, he was my first kiss since, well you know. He seems like a really nice guy, and I think I might ask him to go out on Saturday. He's pretty good looking too. What do you think?" Hermione asked.

"I think you're rushing things! You've only known him for three!" Sarah said yelling the last part.

"You can't tell me what to do Sarah Ann Thoman! I am 23 years old! I can run my own bloody life As a matter of fact, I'm going to go ask him out now, the sooner the better right? Why don't you just take the girls back?!" Hermione turned to the girls. "I'm sorry girls, you can ask me questions later, and I'll see you in the morning, good night." The girls all said good night and began to walk back with Sarah. Hermione turned and started walking back to Draco's cabin.

By the time Hermione reached his cabin, fresh tears were falling from her eyes and down her cheeks; she hadn't bothered to brush them away. Sarah and she had never fought like that, ever. When Hermione got to his door, she realized that she didn't have her key, so she knocked on the door. 

Draco opened the door to see Hermione with tear stains on her face, and her eyes were all red and puffy. "What's the matter, Hermione?" Draco asked taking her inside. Hermione didn't say anything; she just threw her arms around Draco and began sobbing into his shoulder. He pulled her into a tight hug, before leading her to the couch. He held her until she began to calm down, and she had stopped crying. He looked into her eyes and asked again, "What happened?"

"Sarah and I had a row because she noticed how you kissed me. I wanted to kind of get her used to the idea of us being together, so I said that I was thinking of asking you out. She started yelling at me about moving too fast, and that I had only known you for 3 days and stuff like that. Now I'm here, and I feel absolutely horrible for yelling at her!" Hermione said, more tears springing from her eyes. Draco pulled her closer to him.

"It's okay, everything's all right. You guys will make up in the morning, and everything will go back to normal, I promise." He said pressing his lips to her forehead. Draco sat with her on the couch until she fell asleep. He was going to get up, but every time he tried she just tightened her grip on him. He decided to just sleep on the couch with her. Soon after she was asleep, he also was asleep.

Back in the blue jay cabin, Sarah was waiting up for Hermione so that they could talk. She felt just as bad, if not worse, about the fight that they had just had. After waiting for about two hours, Sarah fell into a restless sleep.

The next morning, Hermione woke up to find herself not in her own cabin, but in Draco's arms on his couch. She got up off of the couch and stretched. She looked down at Draco and decided that she better wake him up. About a split second before she reached to touch his shoulder, he shouted, "BOO!" She screamed and fell back onto the floor. Draco laughed at her.

"How long have you been awake?" Hermione asked.

"A while, I was watching you sleep." He told her.

"Oh, how very stalker-ish of you!" Hermione said giggling.

Draco smiled and said, "Haha, We need to get ready because breakfast is in 45 minutes." Hermione sat back on the couch and groaned.

"Do we have to? I know Sarah's going to be mad at me for not coming back last night. She also will have probably told everyone what happened last night, so we can expect lots of questions this morning. I really don't feel up to it." Hermione said. Draco sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms once again. She leaned back against him and sighed contentedly.

"Everything will be okay. We'll get through this together, I promise. I'll do anything for you; you're the best thing that's ever happened to me!" Draco said giving her a peck on the lips.

Hermione smiled and said, "Amazing as it is, I feel the same way." He took her chin and led her lips to his, where they locked in a passionate kiss. Hermione ran her hands through his hair, and his hands slowly moved down to her hips. He laid her back on the couch, but before they could get any further, there was a knock at the door. Draco groaned.

"Why does this always happen to us? Let's just ignore it!" Draco said leaning in for another kiss. Hermione held him back.

"No, you can't neglect your responsibilities as director! It may be important, so you need to go answer the door. I'm going to go take a shower and get ready." Hermione walked over to the bathroom, and Draco went to answer the door. When he opened it, he saw Sarah. She looked like she hadn't slept at all. She had huge bags under her eyes, and she just looked pretty bad all together. 

"Hey Daniel, I was wondering if you've seen Hermione since last night. After the dare, we had a row, and she didn't come back to the cabin last night. I'm really worried about her." Sarah said shakily. Draco opened his mouth to speak but Hermione's voice sounded from inside.

"Hey Draco, do you have any more soap somewhere?" When Sarah heard Hermione's voice a range of emotions flashed across her face in a matter of seconds. Relief. Shock. Anger. It didn't take long for Sarah to glare at Daniel and then stalk away from the cabin.

"Oh, Bugger." Draco said.

As soon as Sarah left Draco's cabin she ran to find Mark, Josh, and Jessie. She stopped off at the Cardinal cabin first to find Jessie, but when she got there, Allison said that she had already left. Sarah ran over to the Hawk cabin, but she only found Mark there.

"Hey Mark! I have a lot of stuff to tell you guys! Where are Josh and Jessie?" she asked.

"I'll give you one guess since they're **_both_** missing." Mark said.

"Staffroom." They said simultaneously. They both ran full speed to the staffroom in the CLC. Mark and Sarah didn't bother to knock or open the door slowly because they both knew what they were doing. When they entered the room they saw Jessie and Josh snogging on the couch. Mark cleared his throat loudly to alert them that he and Sarah were there. They broke apart and both were blushing furiously.

"This had better be important." Josh said.

"Sarah said she has some news about Hermione and Daniel." Mark told him.

"You mean Hermione and **_Draco_**." Sarah told them. The three of them gasped.

"WHAT!" they all said. Sarah launched into a recollection of the past days events. She told them about when they met in the middle of the night by the rock, about what happened with the dare, and how she was in his cabin this morning. She told them that his name wasn't Daniel Martin, but Draco Malfoy.

"What kind of name is Draco Malfoy?" Mark asked. Sarah and Jessie exchanged knowing glances.

"What do you know that we don't?" Josh asked the girls.

"I think we should pay **_Draco_** and Hermione a little visit tonight after the camp game. We need to get to the bottom of this." Jessie said.

"Yeah, I agree. Sorry guys, but we can't tell you some stuff, it's not our place." Sarah told them.

"That's okay. We'll find out tonight." Josh said.

"Yeah, tonight." They all turned and walked down to breakfast, heads spinning with the new information they had all just learned.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Secrets Revealed

Draco stared at where Sarah had been standing just a moment ago. She had heard Hermione say his name; his real name. He sat down on the couch and leaned back to put his head on the back of the couch. His secret was out. He didn't want to imagine what Josh and Mark would say. Hermione said that the girls knew about magic already, but not Mark and Josh. When he revealed he was a wizard to everyone, they were going to be skeptical that he was telling the truth, and they would also be very angry at him for lying to them. 

"Draco did you hear me? Hello!" Hermione said a little louder. Hermione came out of the bathroom. "Hey, what's the matter? Who was at the door?" she asked before sitting down next to him.

"It was Sarah. She came in just in time for you to ask **_Draco_** where the soap was." He told her. It took Hermione about a second to figure out the seriousness of what he had just said. She knelt down in front of Draco and took his hands in hers.

"I'm so sorry! I can't believe I messed up this bad! It's my entire fault! Now everyone is-"

"It's not you fault, it was an accident. We'll get through this together, all right?" she nodded then reached over and pulled him into a hug. "Besides, we can kind of use this as a warm up to Potter and Ginny." He said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I guess. Well, let's just finish getting ready and head down to breakfast." They both stood up and went separate ways. Draco went to his room and Hermione took the bathroom. At 7:45 they were both ready.

"Time to face the music." Hermione said as they walked down to the basketball court together. Soon everyone had arrived at the basketball court, and Draco sent them in for breakfast. When everyone was eating breakfast, Draco and Hermione were surprised that no one had asked them any questions that were out of the ordinary.

"What's going on? Why haven't they started interrogating us yet?" Draco asked Hermione in a whisper.

"I guess she didn't tell them, yet." Hermione answered. He nodded and went back to eating his cereal.

The whole day went by as if nothing had happened the previous night. The staff and campers went through all of their activities of the day, continuing to have the time of their lives. By the time it was time to go down to the lake, the night before was far from Hermione's mind. She was having so much fun that the events had seemed to leave her memory for a brief period of time. The second day was as close to perfect as humanly possible, in Hermione's opinion. To top things off, everyone ended the day with a game of ultimate frizz bee. During this game of frizz bee, one of the campers accidentally smacked Draco very hard in the head with the frizz bee, causing a large purple bump to form on his head. After the game, Hermione walked her campers to the Blue Jay cabin, where most of them just left immediately to go and find their friends to hang out during free time. Hermione then left to go to Draco's cabin. She entered his cabin to find him looking at the bump on his head in the mirror. 

"That was pretty funny, if I must say. That bump looks rather painful though. I can go get my wand and heal it for you." Hermione offered.

"No, you can't. The campers will notice how fast it healed. They aren't stupid." He said.

"I can cast a charm for the pain, and maybe reduce the swelling a little for you. I just won't heal the bruise."

"How are you so good at healing injuries anyway?" He asked her.

"Probably because I went through 3 years of Healer training before I left to live amongst the muggles." She said with a smirk on her face. 

"Okay, fine." He consented.

"I'll be right back." She said kissing him lightly on the lips before going out the door to go and get her wand. Before Hermione even got down the steps, she saw Mark, Josh, Sarah, and Jessie coming up the path toward Draco's cabin. She quickly turned and ran back into the cabin.

"Oh, crap." Hermione said leaning against the door.

Draco turned to her and said, "Wow that was fast." 

"They're coming. I knew Sarah was going to tell the others!" Hermione said. Draco peeked out of the window. Just as Hermione said, the foursome was quickly walking up toward the cabin. Within seconds, there was a knock at the door.

"Can we handle this?" Draco asked Hermione.

"Yeah, I believe that we can." She said smiling at him. Draco opened the door to meet four very furious counselors.

"All right, Draco, you and Hermione have A LOT of explaining to do." Mark said.

"Don't worry about our cabins. We left Ben and Callie in charge. So we can stay here as long as necessary." Sarah said.

"Okay, I think I know where to start. Draco, do you have your wand? I would use mine but it's back in my bag in the cabin." Hermione said. Josh and Mark both had confused looks on their faces as Draco headed toward his room.

"Wand? Like those things magicians use? Are you two completely mental?" Josh asked in disbelief.

"No, we aren't mental. Draco is a wizard; I'm a witch, and he's about to prove it to you." Hermione said as Draco came back into the room with his wand.

"You're going to do magic with a _**stick**_?" Mark said in disbelief.

"No, I'm doing magic with a **_wand_**." Draco said pointing his wand at a book on the table. He made a swish and flick motion with his wand, and the book slowly rose off of the table. Josh and Mark gasped and waved their hands above the book to make sure it wasn't a hoax. Jessie and Sarah smiled, but they weren't shocked because they had seen Hermione do magic before.

"Show off." Hermione muttered.

"What?" Draco asked her.

"This is the first time that you do magic in 6 years, and you do it nonverbally. That makes you a show off."

"**_NO_**, I was just curious to see if I still could-"Draco was cut off by Jessie.

"Okay, back on topic. Pease do explain how you too know each other so well?" Jessie said.

"Well, as Sarah and Jessie know, there is a school for witches and wizards called Hogwarts. That's how Draco and I met. The only thing this that during school, we were sworn enemies. I have non magic parents, and Draco is a pureblood; he was raised to hate people like me.

There also was a war going on in the magical world, and Draco and I were on opposite sides. When I met Draco here, he told me he never was truly with Voldemort. Voldemort was the bad wizard starting all the fighting. Over the short time that we've been at C.S.R. together, we've learned that we have a lot more in common than we thought. We just click. It's kind of like magic." Hermione said smiling at Draco. 

"Well, that's our history in a nut shell." Draco finished squeezing her hand.

"Wow." Sarah said.

"That explains a lot." Jessie added.

"I have one question, if it's not too much to ask. Did Ron die in that war?" Mark asked. 

"Yes, he died the way he would have wanted; he died a hero." Hermione said her eyes getting misty. She stopped the tears before they started and forced a smile.

"Well, we should go and relieve Ben and Callie, even though they probably are already asleep." Jessie said. They group exchanged hugs and then Mark, Josh, Jessie and Sarah headed out of the cabin. Hermione decided to stay a little longer. She curled up with Draco on the couch. He was sitting in the corner of the couch, and she was settled comfortably between his legs. Hermione leaned back against his chest and breathed deeply.

"Everything okay?" Draco asked.

"I think for the first time in three years, I can truthfully answer yes to that question." Hermione answered. Draco smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

"Hermione, can I tell you something?" he asked.

"Sure, anything." She replied turning to face him. 

"I think I-" He didn't finish his sentence. Hermione and he had both heard a sound they recognized well. About half a dozen popping sounds had come from outside.

"That cannot be what I think it is!" Hermione said starting to panic. Draco had a look of absolute horror on his face. They both moved to the window to see what it was. Outside, There were about half a dozen wizards, most likely aurors, coming up the path from the main office. Hermione was shocked when she saw who was leading them up the path. It was none other than her best friend, Harry Potter.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Magic's Consequences

Hermione backed away from the window and looked at Draco. He looked just as terrified as she was. She knew why the aurors had come; they had come to take Draco away. They probably had put a trace on his magic, much like the underage wizards had on their magic. The moment he had performed the levitation charm, the aurors were alerted. Hermione sank to the floor as the tears began to flow like a waterfall down her cheeks. Draco picked her up and took her over to the couch. He sat with her and pulled her into his arms.

"They've come to take you away from me! You can't go, Draco, you can't! I don't know what I'd do if it happened again." Hermione cried burying her face in his chest.

"If what happened again?" He asked her. He looked into her eyes and saw how sad she was; it broke his heart to see her like this.

"If I lost the man I love again." She replied in a whisper.

"Oh, love, that will never happen. I promise you." Draco said pressing his lips to her forehead. He pulled her closer as she continued to cry. Then someone began to bang on the door.

"Malfoy! We are aurors from the Ministry of Magic, and we have a warrant for your arrest. You are a known Death Eater, and we advise you to come quietly, or we will be forced to take proper action." A voice yelled through the door. Hermione knew who it was. It was her best friend coming to take Draco away. This caused her to cling on to Draco even tighter. Draco tried to get her up so that he could answer the door, but Hermione wouldn't budge.

"Do you want Potter to see you with me like this?" He asked.

"I don't care." She mumbled into his chest.

After Draco didn't answer the door, the Aurors had come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to 'come quietly'. About 2 minutes after they banged on the door, the door was forced open. Harry Potter, followed by half a dozen aurors stormed into the cabin, wands at the ready. They looked ready to take Draco down if he was stupid enough to try and fight back. All of the aurors were shocked into silence when they saw him wandless, with a girl curled up in his lap.

"Okay, Malfoy, your little girlfriend needs to go. Assuming she is a muggle, her memory also needs to be modified." Harry said pointing his wand at the girl, who, unknown to him, was his best friend.

"Hold on. No memory modification needed. She's a witch." He lowered his voice. "Hermione, come on. You need to get up." She took a deep breath.

"We haven't got all day Malfoy, I don't care if she's a witch, get her out of here!" Harry yelled impatiently. Hermione stood up and turned around. Many gasps were heard from behind Harry, and from Harry himself.

"I'm not going anywhere." She said defiantly.

"What the bloody hell are you doing with him, Hermione?" Harry yelled.

"I, you see…we…" she stuttered.

"He's a Death Eater for Merlin's sake!" he said to her.

"No he's not! I have proof that he's been at this camp for the past 6 years, not with Voldemort." She said matter-of-factly.

"That may be, but that doesn't change the fact that he has the Dark Mark." Harry said angrily. Hermione felt more tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. She looked at Draco to see that he looked absolutely terrified. She then looked to Harry with tears in her eyes.

"What are you going to do with him?" she asked.

"We've been ordered to take him to Azkaban." Harry replied.

"Azkaban?" Hermione repeated. She began to sob harder. Draco went to her and wrapped his arms around her as she cried. "I can't do it, Draco. I told you already I can't. I can't handle it, I can't do it again."

"What can't you do, Hermione?" Harry asked, getting very worried about his best friend.

"I can't-" Hermione couldn't finish her sentence.

"Lose the man that she loves again." Draco finished for her. Harry looked completely gob smacked by his words.

"You love him?" Harry asked in complete disbelief. "Since when?"

"I don't know. We've been spending so much time together, and he's so unbelievably sweet. There are so many things we have in common that it's scary. You can't take him away Harry; you know what it would do to me." She reminded him. Harry saw the look in her eyes, and saw how tightly she held on to Malfoy. Harry sighed.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I have orders. I will try to keep him out of Azkaban, but I have to at least take him to the Ministry for some questioning, and most likely a trial. I'll try my best for you, I promise." Harry told her. It didn't make her feel much better, but she was comforted a little that Harry would be with him. She looked at Draco and saw that he looked pretty relieved.

"Okay, but please look out for him Harry. I can't lose him."

"I will." Harry said giving her a hug. Hermione then turned to Draco. He gave her a sad smile.

"I'll be okay. Potter is your best friend I think he can keep his promise. As for me, I'll come back to you, no matter what. You can count on it; you're stuck with me now." Draco said pulling her into a hug. "I'm leaving you in charge. I know you can handle it. Please try not to worry too much. I'll be back before you know it." He told her. He lifted her chin so she was looking into his eyes. He guided her lips to his, where they locked in a passionate kiss full of desperation and love. He broke the kiss and gazed into her eyes. "I just want you to know that I love you too." Her whispered to her.

He then turned from her and followed Harry and the other aurors out the door. When she heard the door click as it closed, she stood frozen in the living room. The words 'I love you too' did cartwheels through her mind over and over. She walked into his room where she collapsed on his bed and cried herself to sleep.

She woke up at about 6 o'clock the next morning. She walked, more like dragged herself, to the bathroom. She took a look at herself in the mirror; she looked like hell. Her lack of sleep had caused huge bags to for under her eyes. Her hair was messy and disheveled from tossing and turning all night. She got in the shower and tried hard not to think about the previous night. The harder she tried to forget about it, the more she thought about it. She finished her shower and put her clothes on. She walked into the living room and turned on the radio in hopes that she would be able to listen to the music and the music would distract her from thinking about Draco. Her mind could not focus on anything else, and she remembered things she would rather forget.

As Hermione laid in Draco's bed, she began to relive the horrible things from the past, and new ones forming in the present. Draco's arrest had caused the memories of everything that happened in the past to haunt her once again. She knew that they would continue to haunt her until she was back safe in Draco's arms. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something, anything that would take her mind off of Draco and Ron. She wanted to dream of their first kiss, his smile, his laugh, the feeling of his touch. She had no dreams that night, because sleep never came.

Hermione remembered the many nights where it wasn't Draco she cried for, but Ron she cried for. She remembered all those years she spent alone in the muggle world when she couldn't face the people she loved. All that changed when she came back to C.S.R. and found Draco. In the past few weeks, she didn't notice how much she had come to depend on him, until now. She needed him here with her, to hold her and kiss her and tell her everything was all right. He wasn't here though. He had been taken from her, just like Ron was. She could only hope that Draco would come back to her.

She sat on the couch and just stared at the wall. She nearly fell off the couch when the silence was interrupted by a knock on the door. She went over to the door and opened it. Mark and Jessie were standing at the door. Both of their faces fell at the sight of Hermione. Her hair may have looked better than it did earlier, but there were still huge bags under her eyes. They were also her best friends and they could tell when something was wrong.

"What happened? Where's Daniel?" Mark asked. Hermione motioned for them to come in. The three of them sat on the couch. Hermione then told them what had happened the previous night.

"He's where?" Jessie asked.

"The Ministry of Magic, I hope." Hermione replied.

"When is he going to be back? Who's in charge if he's gone?" Mark asked.

"I'm in charge until he comes back, but I don't know how long he's going to be gone." Hermione told them.

"Okay, you'll do a great job, Jay." Jessie said smiling at her.

"We'll see you down at the court in about half an hour." Mark told Hermione. She nodded. The three of them stood up, and Mark and Jessie both gave Hermione hugs before they left. Hermione sat down on the couch with her healer book, and planned to read until breakfast. She was interrupted when she heard a tapping sound coming from Draco's bedroom. She went into his room and saw that there was an owl at his window. She saw it wasn't just any owl. It was Hedwig. She quickly opened the window and took the letter from Hedwig. It read:

_Dear Hermione. _

_Everything is going pretty well, now. When we first arrived at the Ministry, Malfoy caused a lot of commotion. I've been working on it all night, and they have agreed not to send him to Azkaban, yet. He's in the auror office under 24 hour surveillance at the moment. Everything should be okay, I think. I pulled some strings with Remus, and had his trial scheduled for Saturday, because Draco said you and some of your friends had the day off. I hope your doing okay! _

_Love,_

_Harry_

At the bottom, there was a little note from Draco:

_Hermione, _

_Just wanted to let you know that I'm okay. Potter's doing a good job. Did you know that the minister of magic is that werewolf that used to be our DADA teacher? Apparently Potter knows him, so that's pretty good for me. I hope you're doing all right without me. Hopefully these next three days go pretty smoothly at camp. I miss you already! _

_All My Love,_

_Draco_

Hermione put the letter down and let out a breath that she didn't know that she had been holding. She leaned backwards and fell onto Draco's bed. She was so grateful for Harry and Remus and all of their influence at the Ministry. She was so relieved that everything was going well. She was also convinced that the trial would go well, because she had four witnesses saying he was at camp for the past six years. Hermione stood up and began the walk down to the basketball court. She knew deep down that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

A/N: Just want to thanks everyone who's been reading and reviewing! I know my chapters aren't very long but I hope you all are enjoying the story :D 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Trial Begins

After the day was finished, Hermione went back to Draco's cabin for the night. The only thing she could think about was Draco and his trial. His trial was to be held in a day's time. All day Hermione had walked around faking smiles and happiness, telling everyone Draco had a family emergency. No one suspected anything was wrong; Hermione was an impeccably good actress when she wanted to be.

On the inside, Hermione was in pieces. She felt more lonely then she had ever been, yet she was surrounded by her friends. She sat on the couch in Draco's living room staring blankly at the wall. Since Draco had gone, she felt like a piece of her was missing. She thought maybe she was worrying too much, and that's what was making her feel so terrible, but she had seen what happened to Death Eaters. They got the Dementor's kiss. Hermione involuntarily shuddered at the thought. She had seen Death Eaters get the kiss before, and it still gave her nightmares.

Her mind got away from the thought of Dementors and desperately tried to cling to the idea that after Saturday, Draco would be a free man, and they could be together. Hermione got up from the couch and went over to the bed. She lay down without even changing her clothes. She stared at the ceiling for a while, but then closed her eyes, hoping to go to sleep. For the second night in a row, she couldn't sleep due to the thoughts that would not cease to flow through her mind. 

The next day, Friday, Hermione went through her usual routine during the day. Her friends watched as she grew more and more despondent. Her four friends knew that she was worried about the trial, and they were going to do everything they could to help Draco; he was their friend, too. They were all a bit surprised when Hermione got a tad bit happier toward the end of Dinner. After everyone had finished eating, Hermione stood up to give her usual little speech before the camp game. Tonight it was kickball.

"Now before I send you all off to go and play kickball," many of the campers cheered. "I have a very exciting announcement. Some of you may remember back when we used to have talent shows on Fridays. We will be going back to that tradition. Next Friday, we will hold a talent show before our end of the week party. All of the acts must be submitted to me my Monday morning. Please feel free to ask me any questions that you may have. Now get out of here and go play some kickball." Hermione finished with a slight smile on her face. She had always loved the talent show. It was always great to see what acts the kids would come up with.

All of the campers were conversing excitedly with their friends. They seemed to be ecstatic about the show. Hermione knew it was going to be a hit. After an exciting game of kickball, Hermione took Mark, Josh, Sarah, and Jessie back to her cabin to tell them what was going on tomorrow for the trial. When they got inside, they all sat on the couch.

"Tomorrow we're going to sneak away from the village and catch the Knight bus to the Ministry of Magic. Ben and Callie know we're leaving, but not where we're going. They're going to cover for us. I'm so glad they could cover for all of us; I don't know if I would be able to go to this trial without you guys." Hermione said to her friends.

"No problem, Jay. We would do anything for you. Besides, Daniel is our friend, too. It's not like we would let him rot in jail." Mark said matter-of-factly.

"Well, I think we're going to go and eat lunch at that pizza place first. It's close to the edge of town. Once we get to the Ministry, Harry is going to meet us in the Atrium at one o'clock and he'll sort of be our escort since you all are muggles. Then we'll go to Draco's trial, which starts at two. Everyone got it?" They all nodded.

"Thanks again guys." Hermione said smiling and giving them all hugs before they headed off to their cabins. Hermione quickly changed her clothes and went to try and sleep earlier. She wanted to be as well rested as she could for the trial tomorrow. She closed her eyes and tried to keep her mind from wandering. After about an hour, she finally fell asleep.

She woke up early the next morning so she could gather everything that she would need for the trial. She had her wand, but she also dug up some wizard money for the Knight bus. Hermione also had to print out some old payroll files from the computer. They would probably help a lot in the trial. They proved that Draco worked all year round at C.S.R.

At eleven o'clock, Hermione met with the staff and counselors that were going to the village that day. From the basketball court, they all piled into the bus that was taking them into town. They arrived at the village at about 11:30. They showed the campers where to meet up later, and then everyone went their separate ways. The five friends went and ate lunch at the pizza parlor, and then quickly started their walk towards the outskirts of the town. When they were far enough away, Hermione raised her wand and muttered, _Lumos_, to summon the Knight bus.

In less than a minute's time, a huge purple three decker bus pulled up in front of them. Mark, Josh, Sarah, and Jessie's jaws all dropped at the sight of the bus. Then the conductor, who Hermione recognized as Stan Shunpike, leapt out of the bus.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name's Stan Shunpike and I'll be your conductor this afternoon." Stan said. Hermione held up her wand hand and climbed aboard. She then motioned for the rest of them to follow.

"That'll be 'bout a galleon for the lot o' ya." Stan told Hermione. She went in her pocket and handed him a gold galleon.

"Now where are you all 'eaded off to?" he asked.

"The Ministry of Magic visitor's entrance." Hermione told him.

"Didcha 'ear that Ern?" Stan yelled.

"Yeah." Ernie said putting the bus into gear.

"You lot better take a seat." Stan told them. About a second after they sat down, the bus shot off with an explosion, speeding through the muggle traffic. The 5 of them were clinging to their seats for the entire ride. Hermione thought that Jess and Sarah looked extremely pale, like they were about to be sick. Mark and Josh didn't look much better. When they arrived, Mark, Josh, Jess, and Sarah sprang out of their seats and fled off the bus.

"Good luck in there you lot. It's bound to be crazy with the Malfoy trial and all." Hermione nodded nervously and hopped out of the bus. She led her four friends to the telephone booth. They looked at her oddly, but then they all piled in with Hermione. Hermione picked up the phone and dialed 6-2-4-4-2. A female voice answered.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Hermione Granger, witness for Draco Malfoy's trial, escorting Sarah Thomas, Mark Green, Joshua Grant, and Jessica Foreman, also witnesses for Draco Malfoy's trial." Hermione said into the speaker.

"Thank you." Said the voice. "Visitors, please take the badge and pin it to the front of your robes."

All the badges read the same thing; their name and then Trial Witness underneath. As they landed inside the Ministry the woman said, "Please remember to submit you wand for registration at the far end of the atrium. Have a nice ay." 

The door opened and they all exited the phone booth. They were lots of people crowding the atrium. They all pushed through the crowd and went to the far end of the Atrium to register Hermione's wand. After they had done that, they still had about 10 minutes until Harry was supposed to meet them, so they waited in the atrium for Harry. At exactly one, Harry came to lead them to the courtroom. He gave Hermione a hug and acknowledged her friends with a nod.

"Hello everyone. His trial is being held in the old courtroom where they held my hearing. He's being tried by the whole Wizengamot. I think the interrogator is Susan Bones." Harry told them on the way down to the courtroom.

"Taking after her aunt is she?" Hermione asked when they got on the lift.

"Yeah, she's head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as well." The conversation was interrupted when they arrived on the 6th floor and the doors opened.

"Hermione!" squealed a dark skinned woman as she got on the lift. Another younger dark skinned girl followed her on.

"Solome!" Hermione screamed giving her a hug. "Hey, Eden!" Hermione said waving to the younger girl. 

"Everyone, this is Solome. She is a healer that I trained under during my Healer training. This is her sister Eden. They moved her from Ethiopia about 6 years ago." Hermione told them.

"So what brings you all to the Ministry? I haven't seen you around in ages! I'm only here because Eden needed to take her apparition test. It was the worst day to come though. There are tons of people hanging around waiting for news about the Malfoy trial." Solome said.

"Well, that's why we're all here. We're witnesses in his defense." Hermione told her.

"Well, good luck with that. I think this is your stop isn't it?" Solome pointed out. Harry nodded and led them out.

"I hope to see you again soon, Hermione! St. Mungo's misses you!" Hermione smiled at Solome before she exited the lift.

The 6 of them made their made their way down the long, dark corridor that lead to the courtroom. When they reached the large wooden doors, Harry pushed them open, allowing them all to enter. In the center of the room sat Draco chained to a chair. There were five chairs around his, obviously for his witnesses. Mark, Josh, Jess, and Sarah were amazed by the huge courtroom and all of the people in the plum-colored robes surrounding them. They nervously left Hermione's side and went over to Draco. Mark and Josh both smiled at Draco and squeezed his shoulder before sitting down. Sarah and Jess, both a little teary-eyed at the sight of him chained to a chair, came over and each gave him a kiss on the cheek before sitting down.

Hermione was the last to move from her spot by the door. She was so excited to see him, but seeing him chained to that chair made her a sad and scared for Draco. She walked over to his chair, tears forming in her eyes. As soon as he saw her, his eyes lit up and he smiled at her. When he saw her tears his smile faltered.

"I'm fine." He whispered to her, smiling a little. She smiled as she locked eyes with him. She put her hands on his cheeks and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She pulled away and put her forehead to his and gazed into his eyes.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." He whispered back. Hermione jumped when she heard the gavel hit the desk. She quickly sat down beside him. Hermione quickly looked around the courtroom and noticed they weren't alone. Behind them sat witched and wizards not wearing the plum-colored robes. Hermione's eyes flew immediately to a group of people with red hair that stuck out in the crowd of on-lookers; The Weasleys. Hermione's face fell. This is not how she wanted them to find out. Her thoughts were interrupted by a calm, wise voice she recognized. 

"Witnesses now present, we will begin," Remus said in a booming voice.

Hermione took a deep breath. 'Here we go.'


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Verdict

Everyone in the courtroom watched as Remus took out a piece of parchment and began to read from it.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you were brought before the Wizengamot because you are a known Death Eater. You are charged with aiding in the murder of Albus Dumbledore. If convicted of these crimes, you will be given the Dementors kiss." Hermione involuntarily shuddered at the thought of Draco getting the Dementor's kiss. She looked down at her feet as tears began to well up in her eyes. Susan Bones stood up next.

"Mr. Malfoy, you have brought 5 witnesses in your defense. They are Sarah Thomas, Mark Green, Joshua Walker, Jessica Florence, and Hermione Granger. Is this correct?" asked Madam Bones. Draco nodded. There was a bit of commotion in the courtroom. Many people exchanged glances at the mention of Hermione's name. Wasn't Hermione Granger Harry Potter's best friend? Didn't she fight beside him in the war? Remus banged the gavel as the chatter grew out of hand. There was silence immediately.

"Madam Bones will now question the accused and his witnesses." Remus said addressing the Wizengamot.

"Thank you Minister. I would like to begin with Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy, do you have the Dark Mark?" Madam Bones asked.

"Yes." He replied.

"Well, does that not make you a Death Eater? Your have the Dark Lord's mark on your arm, signifying you were one of his followers. Is that not true?" 

"This mark," he said lifting his sleeve to see the faint out line of a Dark Mark. "Does not make me a Death Eater. I have not participated in any Death Eater activities for the past 6 years. I have never gone to the Dark Lord when I was called over these past 6 years, and I was as sought after as Potter. I abandoned the Dark Lord. I'm a traitor to him. Anyway, I was forced to get the mark in the first place." He replied trying very hard to keep his temper in control.

"What about Albus Dumbledore's murder? Was that not the act of a Death Eater?"

"If you would all remember, it was Severus Snape that killed Dumbledore, not I. I had no choice in the matter of letting the Death Eaters into the castle. They threatened my family. That's the same way they got me to join the Death Eaters in the first place. Would you not do anything for the ones that you love?" Draco replied matter-of-factly. He noticed that most of the Wizengamot was actually paying close attention now. 

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. I have one question that we all want to know the answer to. Where have you been for the past 6 years?"

"I have been working at a muggle summer camp for the past 6 years."

"Do you have any proof of that?" she inquired.

"Yes. My four witnesses, not including Hermione, have worked with me for four of the past six years. Hermione also has some payroll records from the camp, showing that I have worked all year round at the camp for the past six years." He told the Wizengamot. Hermione stood up and walked over to the guard and handed him the records. He gave them to Susan, and she quickly read over them.

"Very well. Mr. Malfoy, did you ever perform magic at all during the past 6 years?"

"Obviously I didn't perform magic; you would have found me sooner. Just to point this out, if I never performed magic, that also shows that I never apparated to meet the Dark Lord." Draco stated a little smugly. Hermione smiled at him. Things were looking pretty good for him. 

"That will be all Mr. Malfoy. I'm just going to ask your witnesses some questions now. Actually, it's just one question. I would like all of you to describe Mr. Malfoy for me, the good and the bad. I would like to start with Miss Thomas." Susan said looking at Sarah.

"Well, Dan- Draco is one of the best people I've ever met. He's very kind and sensitive. He's one of my best friends. He works hard, and is a very responsible person. The only bad thing I can think of is he has a pretty bad temper. I have really only seen him completely lose it once." Sarah said trying to suppress a smile.

"Would you please share this instance when he lost his temper?" Madam Bones asked. Sarah, Josh, Jess, and Mark all exchanged glances and smiled. Jess started giggling and Sarah had to try really hard not to laugh as she replied to Madam Bones.

"Well, it was last year at camp, his first year as director. We decided to sort of, pull a prank on him. One morning we put a plate of pancakes in his chair right before he sat down, and he… he sat right on them. After that, he completely lost it. He was yelling at everyone and then he stomped out of the mess hall, giving the whole camp a nice view of his sticky backside. It still annoys him to bring it up. " Sarah said breaking into a fit of giggles. The four friends were snickering at the memory. Draco shot them a look that said 'Remember where you are!' and they stopped immediately.

"Mr. Green, would you please tell us what you think?"

"I completely agree with Sarah. He's one of my best mates, and I can't imagine life without him. Everyone at camp loves him, and he runs the place great. I think it's a lot more fun then when I was a camper. He's improved the place a lot. He keeps everything running smooth, and I think the place would fall apart without him. The only bad thing is he's really bossy, but you get used to it." Mark said with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Mr. Green. We will continue with Mr. Walker."

"Draco is a really cool guy. He's great at his job, great at sports, and awesome with the kids. I think most of them like him better then our last director, Tony, to be honest. He's respectful of everyone and wise beyond his years. I can ask him about anything. He's kind of a slob though. I don't recommend living with the bloke. He's like my brother, and I love him regardless of his flaws."

"Now, how about you tell us some things Miss Florence?"

"What can I add except that I love him to death! They said it all, and as you can see he's a great guy. He's one of the most caring people that I've met. I know for a fact he has changed a lot. I remember when Hermione used to come to camp and complain about this evil guy from her school that she absolutely loathed. Do you know who that guy was? Yes, it was Draco. Now they are dating. What other evidence of how much he has changed do you need?" Jess finished.

"Thank you all. Now, I have some questions for Miss Granger. To start, you are muggleborn, correct?" asked Madam Bones. Hermione nodded. "Did Mr. Malfoy tease you at all in school?"

"Well, yes. He actually teased me all of the time. He made fun of my looks, intellect, and blood. He also called me mudblood on several occasions." Many members of the Wizengamot gasped at the mention of that horrible name. Draco flinched a little, he was not happy with what he had done in the past. "But, I forgave him for that. He is a changed man. If I can forgive him after the hell he put me through in Hogwarts, you should all be able to see that he is not a Death Eater. Harry is my best friend, and I fought beside him in the war. Who, besides Harry, would know dark wizards better than me? I know Draco Is no Death Eater. I love him, and he loves me, a muggleborn. If you can honestly accuse him of being a Death Eater after hearing all of these testimonies, then I think you're all crazy." Hermione stated passionately.

Everyone had their eyes on Madam Bones and the Minister for a reply. "It seems Mr. Malfoy may not be a Death Eater, but that doesn't change the fact that because of his actions, Dumbledore is dead." She said.

"That is not entirely true." said a voice from behind Madam Bones. Harry stood up and everyone was instantly quiet. "May I say something Remus?" 

"Go ahead Harry." Remus urged. Harry took a deep breath. 

"Dumbledore's death was not Draco's fault. Dumbledore and Severus Snape had planned Dumbledore's death. Dumbledore had been very badly cursed, and had a year or less to live. Severus knew of Draco's mission from Voldemort to kill Dumbledore, so they planned for Severus to eventually kill Dumbledore if Draco didn't succeed. They didn't think Draco would be able to, so the plan was for Severus to kill Dumbledore from the beginning. Draco was pretty much being used for their plan. Draco didn't know of this at all." Harry told everyone. The whole room was too shocked to speak. Madam Bones broke the silence.

"How did you find this out?" 

"Severus gave me some of his memories before he died. They prove all of this, and they also prove he was always on the good side, too. He was best friends with my mother, and he loved her. Trust me; everything I've said is the truth. Draco is no Death Eater, and he had nothing to do with the death of Albus Dumbledore." Tears were flowing down Hermione's cheeks at this point. There was really no case against him anymore. There was no way they could convict him of any of the previously mentioned crimes.

"It's now time for the Wizengamot to vote. All in favor of convicting Draco Malfoy and sentencing him to life in Azkaban please stand." Only about half a dozen people stood up.

"All in favor of clearing him of all charges?" The rest of the Wizengamot stood up. 

"Cleared of all charges." Remus said before banging the gavel. The chains on the chair disappeared and Draco stood up. Hermione threw her arms around him and hugged him as tightly as she possibly could. She wasn't ever letting go.

"Hermione, the guy has to breathe." Josh said from behind her. She loosened her grip a little.

"He happens to have other friends as well." Sarah said with fake anger in her voice. Hermione let go of him as Sarah and Jessie both came over and gave him hugs. The guys shared a very 'manly' hug as well.

"We're going to go sit down outside of the courtroom. You guys take a little time alone." Jessie said winking at the couple. The four friends left the courtroom and Hermione and Draco were pretty much alone. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head to his chest. She could hear his heart beat, and it comforted her instantly. He wrapped his arms around her as well.

"I missed you." He whispered.

"I missed you too." She replied. He stepped back a little and looked into her eyes.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Kiss me, right here." he said putting a finger to his lips. It took less then a second for her lips to be on his. A fire ignited inside of both of them. The kiss was full of passion and love. Her hands were on either side of his face, while one of his hands was on her neck and the other was placed firmly on her lower back. They were completely lost in each other, and oblivious to the world around them. They broke apart when there were flashes of blinding light coming from all around them. About 50 reporters had entered the courtroom. They looked at each other and smiled. Nothing could ruin their moods, even crazy reporters. They smiled at the cameras and placed their arms around each other's waists. They were together again, and that was all that mattered.

About an hour later, Hermione and Draco emerged from the courtroom. Out side, Jessie and Josh were sitting together on the bench. Jessie was in Josh's lap, and she was leaning back against him and he had his hands around her waist. Sarah and Mark were sitting on the floor playing cards. Sarah carried them everywhere just in case. The four of them looked up when they heard Hermione and Draco coming over.

"You guy's finally done? Because I'm pretty starving." Mark told them. Everyone laughed. 

"When are you not hungry? It's okay though. We should leave now if we want to eat. It's about quarter til 5, and the bus leaves at 6:30. Well, actually if we leave now we can actually take our time and eat. So we all ready?" Hermione asked. Everyone nodded. "Okay, let's go." The group of friends started walking toward the lift.

"Hermione!" Someone yelled from behind them. Hermione turned and saw Harry and Ginny walking toward them. Hermione ran up to Harry and gave him a hug.

"Thank you so much Harry! We wouldn't have been able to do it without you!" Hermione told her best friend.

"It's okay. I would do anything for you Hermione. Honestly, you should know that after 13 years of being my best friend. As long as you are happy, I'm happy." Harry replied. Hermione then turned to Ginny with an apologetic look on her face.

"It's okay, Harry explained. You are going to have to explain it to mum and everyone though." Ginny said.

"I will, I promise. I'll call you at the Burrow later on this week. Family day is Saturday, so I'll see you there. Harry knows where he's going. I'm really sorry but we have to bet back to camp." Hermione said. Ginny nodded and gave Hermione a hug. Hermione walked back over to Draco and the others. Draco, Hermione, Josh, Jessie, Sarah, and Mark all piled on the lift. After leaving the Ministry they all loaded onto the Knight Bus to head back to the village. When they arrived, it was about 5:30 and they had enough time to eat dinner before it was time to leave. They all stuffed themselves full of pizza at the pizza parlor. At 6:30 they went and got on the bus with all of the campers and other staff. 

All the kids were chatting happily with their friends about their days and the purchases they made in town. They couldn't wait to get back to see their friends that had stayed behind. During the ride back, Hermione laid her head on Draco's shoulder and fell asleep instantly. She was knocked out for the entire ride back to camp. When they pulled up to the office, all of the campers fled off the bus and ran to go find their friends so they could tell stories about their day and show each other what they bought.

Draco picked up Hermione and carried her bridal-style to the Blue Jay cabin. He laid her down on the bed and gently kissed her forehead. He gave Sarah a hug as well before he went off to go and find the guys. It was only 7 o'clock. Even though everyone else at the camp was too excited to sleep, Hermione slept like she had not slept in years. She slept through the night, and late into Sunday morning. Little did she know that something bad was coming her way. She may have thought her troubles were over, but they were just beginning.

Somewhere Unknown…

A man in a tattered black cloak was walking through the woods. He was going to meet his companions at the site where they were hiding. He had gone into the town to scrounge up some food for them, but he found something far more interesting. He knew that his friend would be furious with what was written in the newspaper in his hands. His wife would be just as angry.

He walked into the clearing and pulled down his hood. His face was gaunt, and his skin was ghostly pale. He walked up to one of his longest friends and threw the paper at him before sitting beside his wife.

"What's with the paper? Where's the food Rodolphus?" asked Bellatrix.

"Just wait and see Bella. Food is the least of our worries now." He replied with a sinister smirk on his face. Lucius opened the paper and glanced at the front page. His face immediately twisted in anger.

"That traitor is dead! He's a filthy little blood traitor like those god damn Weasleys! He will pay for soiling the Malfoy name. I have no son." Lucius yelled throwing the paper on the ground. Bellatrix went and picked the paper up. She read the cover and a scowl appeared on her face.

"It thought my nephew was better then that! If I would have known he had stooped to this level, I would have killed him a long time ago! Now that we know, He will not live to see another week!" Bellatrix screamed throwing the paper into the fire. 

"I take it we are going to find him?" Rodolphus asked. 

"Not only find him, but kill him and his little mudblood as well." Lucius replied. The threesome looked into the fire as the paper burned. There was a small piece of parchment that had not yet burned up. The headline was visible along with a tiny fragment of a picture visible. The headline read, **"Draco Malfoy, CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES!"**Underneath was the slowly burning image of Hermione and Draco, lips locked in a passionate kiss.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Surprising Talents

Hermione slept in late on Sunday morning because it was the first night in four days when she could sleep through the entire night. Sunday was one of the best days of the week because it was free day all day, and Hermione didn't have to work. She woke up at about 10 o'clock the next morning to find the girls cleaning up around the cabin. They were scrubbing the walls and they had gotten the vacuum out. Hermione smiled and realized that cabin wars had started last night. They always started after a trip to the village, because that's where everyone got their supplies.

Cabin wars were when the campers would prank each other in the middle of the night. She got out of bed and looked around to see what damage the boys had done. Toilet paper covered the floor and shaving cream was all over the walls. The smell was horrible. Some of the girls had faint marker lines on their faces, and others had faces that were bright red from trying to wash off the marker and most likely paint. Hermione rushed into the bathroom to see if the boys had gotten to her as well.

The mirror in the bathroom had something weird smudged all over it. She cleaned off as much of it as she could and looked at her reflection. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw her face was clean. Sarah had saved her from the boys. When it came to the pranks at least one counselor from the cabin knew about the pranks beforehand so that they could let the campers doing the pranking into the cabin. She was glad Sarah had decided to tell them to leave her be.

She got dressed after helping up with the clean-up operation and headed to find everyone else. She decided to check by the lake first. Most people normally lay around the lake all day being lazy. When she reached the lake, she saw Mark, Josh, Sarah, and Jessie sitting on the bank watching the campers and just lazing about. She noticed that Draco was nowhere to be seen. She walked over to them.

"Hey guys, Have you seen Daniel?" she asked holding back her smile.

"He was in the office on the phone last time I saw him. He's probably still in there at the moment." Mark told her.

"Thanks. I'm going to go and find him. I'll see you all later." She said waving before turning to run across the camp to Draco's office. When she reached the office, she opened the door and silently stepped inside. He was still talking on the phone.

"That would be great. She'll love seeing you all… Okay, see you soon. Bye." She walked over and sat right in his lap after he hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Hermione asked.

"It was no one really. It was just the food delivery people." He replied.

"Okay. Well then. What are we going to do today?" she asked wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm stuck in here sorting out all of this talent show stuff." He told her while flipping through a huge stack of papers that had the acts on them.

"I will help you so we can get done faster. Then we can go and do whatever we want." Hermione told him kissing him lightly on the lips. She hopped off of his lap and pulled a chair up next to him. He took the papers and set them in front him himself and Hermione.

"Whoa." Hermione exclaimed.

"I know. I think we need to have some kind of auditions. We won't have time for all of these acts on Friday night." Draco said flipping through the stack of papers.

"We can sort them into groups of similar acts, and then we can make an audition list from there." Hermione suggested. Draco handed her half of the stack of papers and they began to sort through the many potential acts.

Before Hermione knew it, it was Friday morning. Her brain flooded with all of the things that she needed to do. She had to help set up in the CLC for the show, help set up an area for the families that came on Saturday, and she still had yet to call Harry and Ginny at the Burrow. She forced herself out of bed at seven so she could take a shower. After she was ready she had to wake up all of the campers and Sarah. She lay down on her bed and waited while everyone else got ready.

At 7:55 everyone was ready to head down to breakfast in the Mess Hall. They walked down to the basketball court with the other groups of campers who were just leaving as well. Everyone was down at the court by eight, and they were just waiting for Draco. 10 minutes later, Draco was seen hurrying from his office.

"Sorry I'm late everyone. Go ahead in." Draco said, apologizing to everyone. Hermione walked over to him.

"What's up? You're never late for anything." She stated.

"It's a surprise." He said as a slight smirk flashed across his face. Together they both began walking over to the Mess Hall where everyone was waiting. Hermione froze when she heard a small voice call out from behind them.

"AUNT HERMYNEE!"

Hermione turned around and saw Ron running as fast as his little legs would carry him. She looked at Draco with wide eyes. "Surprise." Draco said. He pointed toward his office and Hermione saw Harry, Ginny, and James just outside of the office. Ron had reached Draco and Hermione. Hermione picked Ron up off of the ground and gave him a kiss on the forehead with tears in her eyes. She turned to Draco and gave him a smile.

"Thank you." She mouthed before giving him a light kiss on the lips.

"Go on. I have to go to breakfast, but you can spend some time with them. I'll bring you some food later." He said. She reached over and squeezed his hand, and then he left to go to the Mess Hall.

After he had gone inside, Hermione ran over to Ginny, Harry, and James with Ron in her arms. When she reached Harry and Ginny she turned to Ron. "I'm going to set you down with your brother so I can talk to mum and dad okay?" He gave her a little lopsided grin and he didn't struggle as she set him down. She turned around and gave Ginny a hug before turning to Harry and wrapping her arms around him in a nearly bone-crushing hug.

"I'm so glad you guys are here! How long are you staying?" Hermione asked after releasing Harry from her death grip.

"We're staying the night and then leaving tomorrow afternoon with the other families." Ginny told her.

"Great! You guys get to stay for the talent show! It's going to be really awesome." Hermione said not trying to hide her enthusiasm.

"Yeah. Malfoy mentioned that." Harry said. Hermione noticed there was still a slightly irritated tone to his voice. She ignored it.

"Well, why don't we go into Draco's cabin and hang out for a bit before I have to start getting ready for the many things we have planned. You guys can wander around all day. I have a lot of stuff to do for tonight and tomorrow, but you will be fine without me. There's a lake and lots of other things to do." Hermione informed them.

"Lake?" James said with a slightly inquisitive tone to his little voice.

"Yes. You can go swimming and everything!" Hermione said to James while she picked him up and planted a kiss on his forehead as well.

"Jamie's gonna get wet!" Ron said giggling and pointing at James.

"Ron is too!" James said sticking his tongue out at Ron. The adults laughed a little at this comical exchange between brothers. Hermione checked her watch and noticed that breakfast was almost over.

"Let's head inside before we're trampled by the campers leaving the Mess Hall." Hermione told them a smile making its way onto her face. Together they walked into the cabin so they could catch up with each other, like old times.

Unknown to the wizards and witches at camp, three invisible pairs of eyes were watching their every movement from the woods.

"Bloody Potter. He's always getting in the way. We can't do anything while he's here. We need to have a clean getaway. If he sees us, there will be fucking aurors everywhere." Lucius said to his companions, the anger evident in his voice.

"Why don't we just get Draco and Granger tonight when everyone is asleep? We could use a Disillusionment charm, and that way no one would see us. I mean not that they would notice anyway. Muggles are too damn stupid for their own good." Bellatrix suggested.

"We can't use any magic. They have traces on it like the traces on underage wizard's magic. That's why it was such a pain in the ass to find Draco because we couldn't use magic." Rodolphus reminded them.

"Well, we can always kill them the muggle way." Lucius suggested. Bellatrix turned and gave him a look that could kill.

"The MUGGLE WAY? You are a complete moron Lucius! One, we are purebloods, and we do NOT go as low as to anything as the muggles do. Where is your pride? Second, if you had one brain cell left, you would know that if you kill the muggle way, it would lead a trail that would most likely lead straight to us. I have a better idea. Lucius, do you have Cissy's old wand with you?" Bellatrix asked. Lucius took a minute to respond. He was still shocked by her scolding.

"Yes, Why?" he asked.

"It's almost the exact same wand Draco has, correct?" He nodded. "She's also dead. That means they aren't tracing the magic from that wand, and if they were, they probably just think it was your traitor of a son and think nothing of it because the wands are the same." Bellatrix told them with a sinister smile on her face.

"Brilliant." Rodolphus replied.

"I know." Bellatrix smirked at her two companions who she knew would be completely incapable of doing anything without her.

Harry and Ginny were sitting on the makeshift beach on the bank of the lake. They were watching the boys play in the sand. Harry was sitting up and Ginny was leaning back against Harry and his arms were wrapped around her waist. Harry suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Ginny felt him shudder.

"What's the matter?" she asked turning her head around to face him.

"Nothing. I just had one of those weird feeling that I used to get." Ginny moved from her spot and turned around to face him completely.

"If I remember, you only got those feelings back in the days of the war and they were never good." Ginny reminded him; her voice betrayed the fact that she was getting worried.

"It's probably nothing." He reiterated.

"Need I remind you of the last time you had a 'weird feeling'? Oh yeah, the last time was the day we decided to leave the boys with mum when we went into Diagon Alley. Remember what happened? Of course you do. That was the day Yaxley and Macnair attacked us. That weird feeling pretty much saved the boy's lives. What do you think it is this time?"

"I dunno… I think it might have something to do with Death Eaters again. Maybe we should floo Fred or Charlie to see if there's been anything in the Prophet." Harry suggested. Ginny shook her head.

"No, I just think that we should be on the watch for anything odd. We're in the middle of nowhere at a muggle camp. I really don't think that anything is going to happen." Harry gave her a disbelieving look. "Don't you dare say anything about Draco. Hermione has good judgment. There obviously is a good reason that she trusts him. I know you've noticed how much better she is, so don't even think that. You also were at that trial. You know he's innocent." Ginny told him in a very serious tone of voice.

"I know it's not Malfoy, but what if his father comes looking for him or something?"

"You'll know. The ministry will contact you if the trace on his magic is set off. Just relax and try not to think about it until we get home." Ginny said. Harry nodded.

"All right, fine." Harry answered in defeat. "On a lighter note, how about we go get some lunch?" he suggested.

"You boys and your stomachs. Let's go to the Mess Hall. Hermione will help find us some food. Let's go boys." Ginny called. She noticed that the twins weren't on the beach. They were way out in the deeper part of the lake, where Ginny knew the water was too deep for them.

"JAMES, RON!" Ginny screamed. Harry jumped into the water and rushed over to where the boys were. He reached them and noticed that they weren't drowning, or even having any trouble. They were happily splashing each other and laughing. The water was somewhat deep, even for Harry. The twins appeared to be floating on the surface on the water, but they were more standing up then actually floating. It was impossible, and almost like magic. Harry smiled.

"Gin, are you seeing this?" Harry called back to the shore, the excitement in his voice plainly obvious.

"Oh Merlin! They're wiz-"

"GINNY!" Harry scolded.

"Right, sorry. This is so great! My boys are wizards!" she whispered the last word. Harry smiled before he lifted the twins out of the water and carried them to the shore.

It was 7:30 the night of the talent show, and everyone (Draco, Hermione, Mark, Josh, Jessie, Sarah, Harry, Ginny, and the twins) was in Draco's cabin. They were all waiting while Ginny gave the twins another bath. They had decided to go and play in a mud puddle about 30 minutes before it was time to leave to go to the CLC.

"Hey, Hermione, they know about you-know-what right?" Harry asked referring to her muggle friends.

"Magic? Yeah, they know about it. Why?" she asked.

"You will never guess what the boys did today." Harry said smiling.

"What?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Well, let's just say that the twins will be getting their Hogwarts letters in a little less than 8 years." Harry told her beaming with pride.

"Oh, Harry, that's wonderful!" Hermione said before crushing him in a hug.

"Congrats." Draco said from his chair. Just then Ginny walked out of the bedroom with a twin holding each of her hands.

"We're all ready." She said.

"Let's head out. We've only got 10 minutes." Draco said leading the way. They got into the CLC and began to help seat the arriving campers. There was a small section of the floor where everyone was seated, and the acts would be performing on the free portion of the floor. The stereo equipment was set up off to the side of the empty space. By 8 o'clock everyone had arrived and was seated on the floor.

"Welcome to the talent show everyone! I hope you enjoy all of the acts that have been put together for you all. Immediately following the show, we'll have our dance and all that fun stuff. Our first act is Corey and Maddy singing 'When the Stars Go Blue'." Maddy and Corey stood up and went up in front of the audience. They were a great first act, and the duet was beautiful. The audience roared with applause.

As the show continued, there were a few singing numbers and dance routines. There was even a magic act. Out of all of the acts, there were two that were clearly the most popular. Olivia's gymnastics routine and a set of skits performed by two older campers, Jeremy and Luke, were by far the favorites.

For Olivia's routine, the campers and staff all moved to sit along the wall so that she could use most of the floor. One thing that shocked Hermione was that Olivia was doing her routine on carpeted floor. It was hard to tumble on any surface other than a spring floor. The background music she used was the song "Hold On" by the Jonas Brothers.

She started her routine with a round off back handspring, and she landed it perfectly. She did a straddle jump, a pike jump, and a few other position jumps. She kept her toes pointed and she was gracefully dancing across the floor. She did a round off back handspring back tuck, followed by a front tuck step out round off back handspring full. This earned a huge cheer from the audience.

She slid down into a middle split, and then she did two back walkovers. For her big finale, she did a front handspring step out round off back handspring one and a half. She finished with a huge smile on her face as the applause boomed from all around her.

The last act of the night was Jeremy and Luke doing their skits. Olivia was hard to follow, but they turned out to be hilarious. They started off by doing some spoofs of things that had happened over their years at camp. Near the end of their act, Draco was pretty annoyed with them. Most of their skits had been about pranks that had been pulled on him over the years. By the time of their next skit, Draco was at the end of his patience. Their last skit was about a candy store.

"Can we get two staff volunteers for our last skit?" Jeremy asked. No one stood up, because they knew what to expect from Jeremy and Luke.

"Okay, how about we get Hermione and Mr. M up here. All we need is for the two of you to hold the ends of this stick that makes up our candy booth." Luke told them. Hermione and Draco stood up and picked up the stick much like you would a limbo pole, one of them on each end. A sign was attached to the front of the large stick that read "Candy Store". Luke stood behind the booth, as he was the man selling candy. Jeremy walked up to the booth.

"Do you sell any snickers here?"

"Nope." Luke replied.

"How about Twix?"

"Nuh-uh."

"M & Ms?"

"No, sorry."

"Starburst?"

"Um, no."

"Then what candy do you sell here?" Jeremy asked in an angry voice.

"All I have Here is two dumb dumbs on a stick." Luke told him. The whole room burst into laughter as Draco scowled and dropped his end of the stick. Hermione laughed and went to sit down.

"Okay, that concludes our-"

"Wait, we just got one more thing!" Luke said.

"No it's time for the dance. Mark start the music." Draco told him, the annoyance somewhat obvious in his tone.

"All right, Mr. M, that's cool." Jeremy said patting him on the back. Draco didn't realize that Jeremy had just slapped a sign on his back that read, "Pancakes here" with arrows on it pointing to his bum. No one bothered to tell him, and they just snickered behind his back. He went over to Hermione and sat down next to her with a scowl on his face. She took his hand.

"Relax it was just a joke." She reminded him.

"I know." He replied in a softer voice. She laid her head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her waist and watched the campers enjoy their night.

Outside, Olivia and Cody were walking around the camp together. They had snuck out of the CLC so they could have some alone time together. They were holding hands and walking along a path by the side of the woods.

Olivia seemed at peace on the outside, but in her mind her thoughts were moving a mile a minute. There was more to her than anyone knew. She wasn't just a normal camper. She knew her camp director was Draco Malfoy, former Death Eater. She knew that Harry Potter was in the CLC at that very moment with his wife and kids, and that Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's best friend, was at camp as well. She wasn't a muggle, she was a witch. She was going into her Fifth Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she wanted to know why she was no longer the only magical person at camp. Her thoughts were interrupted by Cody.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?"

"I thought I heard someone talking in the woods." He told her.

"Okay, Cody, stop trying to freak me out!" she told him in a stern voice.

"I'm not! I seriously heard-"

"STUPEFY!" yelled a voice from the woods. The spell hit Cody and he fell to the ground. Olivia saw Lucius Malfoy emerge from the woods. She screamed and ran as fast as she could toward the CLC, where Harry Potter was along with the other witches and wizards. She pulled out her wand just in case there was a need to defend herself, but no one followed her.

Everything in the CLC had stopped, because they all heard the scream from outside. Everyone stared when Olivia ran through the doors with a terrified look on her face, and fear in her eyes. She ran over to Draco and said something that was inaudible to everyone. Well, everyone except Draco. He heard her words as if she had yelled them in his ear.

"Lucius Malfoy."

Those were the last words she said before she fainted. Draco caught her, but her wand of maple with a core of unicorn hair slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about all of the cliffhangers... I just love writing them :

and if you didn't get the dumb-dumb jone, a dum dum is a lolipop... so it's kind of really corny pun. lol. Thanks so much for reading everyone! Reviews are always appreciated!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, and the monster cliffhanger at the end. You have been warned. **

**and I promise the next chapter will be up very soon :**

* * *

Chapter 18: Just Us

A lot of things happened simultaneously. A few girls screamed when Olivia fainted, Draco caught her, and Hermione ran to pick up her wand before anyone noticed it. Draco quickly handed Olivia to Mark and turned to Harry, Ginny, and Hermione.  
"Let's go outside and talk." Harry suggested. The other three wizards nodded, and Draco turned to Mark, Josh, Jessie, and Sarah.

"You all are in charge. No one comes into the CLC and no one comes out. This is serious, but don't panic." Draco told them. The severity of his tone told them that he wasn't joking around. They all nodded. "We'll be right back in with a plan. Just keep everyone calm." Draco said before leaving to go and join Harry, Ginny and Hermione outside. When he was outside he saw Hermione examining the wand.

"Oh Merlin. I can't believe it, she's a witch." Hermione whispered to the other three.

"Do you think she really saw Lucius?" Ginny asked.

"I don't think that she would lie about something as serious as seeing my father. Because she is a witch, she probably knows who we all are. I don't see Olivia pulling a stunt like this on the four of us, especially with the history the wizarding community knows you all have with Dark Wizards. I really have no doubt that he's out there in the woods. Bellatrix and Rodolphus are most likely with him, too." Draco said. Ginny and Hermione looked nervous, and Harry looked very grim.

"What are we going to do?" Ginny asked.

"We can't just leave them all in the CLC alone with no protection. If we split up, someone is going to be at a disadvantage either way. If we spilt evenly, the two that go for Draco's father will be outnumbered, and there cannot be only one of us here alone because it's not safe." Hermione stated logically.

"I think Potter and I should go and look for them, and you and Ginny should stay here." Draco suggested. Hermione and Ginny glared at him. Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but Draco cut her off.

"Hold on, hear me out. I know for a fact it's me he wants, so if I stay here it will just lead Lucius to the campers and staff. I think Ginny probably wants to stay near the twins, and Potter is an auror so I think he is probably the best dueler out of all of us. I also believe its best that you stay out of the way, Hermione. They probably won't hesitate to kill you on the spot." Draco said. The pain in his voice was evident as he stated that last thought.

"Why can't Harry call for reinforcements?" Hermione asked.

"Wasn't there someone with Olivia?" Harry asked. Hermione glanced at Draco and saw the look of horror on his face. At that moment it was like a light bulb went off in Hermione's head.

"Oh Merlin, Cody." Hermione whispered. "They probably have him. That's why we can't call for anyone" she finished.

"Yes. They will notice if we call in more aurors. I don't think it's a good idea to put Cody in jeopardy like that." Draco told them.

"In other words, it's up to us, once again." Harry said somewhat sadly. Ginny wrapped an arm around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder in a comforting embrace.

"Yeah. So I guess we're going with Draco's plan?" Harry and Ginny nodded.

"I'm going to go and see the boys before we go." Harry said taking Ginny's hand and taking her inside. Hermione let out a long breath as the tears began to well up in her eyes. Draco saw her tears and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him as well and buried her face in his chest. The tears fell from her eyes and left a large wet spot on the front of Draco's shirt.

"I've had to say goodbye too many times. It's not fair." Hermione mumbled into his chest, her body shaking with sobs. He stroked her hair and rubbed her back.

"This is not goodbye for us. I will come back. The both of us have had our share of hurt for a lifetime, there won't be anymore, I promise. Harry and I will be fine. We have too much to live for. There is no way we will just go out and die at the hands of some damned Death Eaters. Don't worry." He said to her softly.

"Don't tell me you will come back when you don't know for sure!" she replied somewhat angrily trying to hold back her sobs.

"Yes I do. Nothing can keep us apart. I promise I will come back. I love you." He said before kissing the top of her head. She held him even closer, feeling as if he would disappear into thin air if she let go for one second. Before they knew it Harry and Ginny came out of the CLC.

"Ready Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Yes, let's go." Draco replied. He turned to Hermione and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "I promise." He walked over to Harry and together they disappeared into the darkness, once again facing the dangerous followers of the Dark Lord.Hermione went to wipe the tears from her eyes, but as she lifted her hand to her face, she realized Draco had slipped something into her hand. She opened her palm to find the simple gold band that Draco had always worn on his pinky finger. He had once mentioned to her that it was a ring of his mother that had been passed down many generations.

She knew how much it meant to him, and in a sense he was giving him a piece of himself. She let a tear make its way down her face as she slipped the ring on her right hand. Ginny walked over to her and hugged her tightly. This was going to be a long night.

Bellatrix snapped the wand from Lucius' grasp. "What the bloody hell! You fool! What was the reasoning behind stunning the foul muggle boy? You pretty much just fucking handed us over to Potter! We were supposed to be keeping a low profile you idiotic imbecile!" Bellatrix said yelling at Lucius.

"Don't treat me like I am some incompetent fool Bella! I know what I am doing! If anything I just saved your worthless life! Rodolphus, take the boy." Rodolphus picked up Cody and carried him further into the woods.

"Explain yourself, Lucius, because from where I'm standing, that was a pretty unintelligent move." Rodolphus commanded glaring at Lucius. Lucius smirked.

"If I know Potter like I know I do, he will not risk the boy's life. He knows we will kill the boy if he brings in aurors, which me most certainly will. So basically Potter won't call in reinforcements, and they are all alone. This will be much easier than you thought, especially since we have a bargaining chip." He told them. Rodolphus let out a bitter laugh.

"You think you can defeat the boy who brought down the Dark Lord? Oh yes, also remember that was 6 years ago. He is now an auror. Do you not realize what a disadvantage you are out right now?" Rodolphus scoffed.

"I am not the Dark Lord; I will not make the same mistakes that he once did. But you, Rodolphus, you are a disgrace and a coward." Lucius hissed.

"Do you presume to tell me that you think yourself better than the Dark Lord? You also have the audacity to insult my husband. Lucius, you are a fool! An overconfident fool. You think you have made things better when in reality you have made them ten times worse!" Bellatrix yelled at him. She walked up and stared him straight in the face. "You fucked yourself over, but you are not taking us with you. I hope Potter kills you. My husband is not the disgrace, Lucius. That would be you." She snatched Narcissa's wand from Lucius' hands and walked to Rodolphus and grabbed his hand. They apparated without another word. Lucius yelled at the top of his lungs. He took his wand from his pocket and looked around. A squirrel was climbing up a tree. Lucius killed it without hesitation to relieve some of his anger.

"That wasn't very nice now, was it?" said a voice from the woods .Lucius looked into the shadows but couldn't make out who it was.

"That was too easy. I could hear them arguing from across camp. Now you're all alone. This is not turning out the way I thought it would." Said a second voice with a hint of disappointment.

"Potter, come out like a man instead of hiding in the woods like a woman." Lucius told them.

"No one is hiding. We're right here." Draco said stepping from the shadows followed closely by Harry.

Lucius looked between the two men with a very evident scowl on his face. Harry and Draco felt relieved when they noticed that Lucius was without a wand, but they were not without worry; Bellatrix and her husband were no where to be found. With their wands drawn, they both completely stepped from the shadows to end this once and for all.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Broken

Hermione and Ginny had surrounded the CLC with every protective enchantment they could think of. They also shielded the windows and doors so that the campers and staff inside would not be able to see or hear anything that might happen. They had informed Olivia of what was going on after she woke up, and she volunteered to help them keep watch outside. They were each stationed at different corners around the building, but they were each in view of at least one other person at all times.

Draco and Harry had only been gone for about 10 minutes, but it felt like much longer to Hermione and Ginny. Olivia was absolutely scared out of her mind. She had thought that all of this dark wizard business was over, and that her generation would not have to deal with anything like this. She had never had to duel anyone outside of DADA class, and she was praying that she would not have to put her skills to the test tonight.

No sounds could be heard outside of the CLC. It was very quiet and completely different from the normal sounds of laughter that were normally heard at Camp Shadow Rock. The three women jumped simultaneously when two distinct cracks broke the eerie silence. They all immediately held up their wands and walked toward each other.

"Who do you think that was?" Olivia asked her voice trembling.

"We're about to find out." Hermione said gripping her wand tightly. Two figures clad in black robes emerged from the shadows. Their faces were hidden behind hoods. When they were about ten feet from Hermione, Ginny, and Olivia, the person on the left let out a shrill laugh that sent a chill down Hermione's spine.

"Oh, this is going to be much more fun than I thought! Two mudbloods and a blood traitor. I came to torture some muggles, and I find this instead! How wonderful!" the woman on the left said before laughing again. This time the man on her right began to laugh as well. Hermione and Ginny's eyes grew wide when they realized who was standing before them. Hermione looked over and linked eyes with Ginny. Ginny nodded and together they yelled "STUPEFY!"

Bellatrix shouted "REVERSKI!" while Rodolphus produced a shield charm.. Ginny had to duck to avoid being hit by her own jinx. The four began to duel as Olivia stood by, staring at the scene before her. She knew she should help, but she was rooted to her spot out of total fear. Her attention flew back to the battle and out of her thoughts just in time to see Ginny yell "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

The spell only grazed the side of Bellatrix's face, leaving a small gash on her cheek that was bleeding profusely. "You little bitch! CRUCIO!" Ginny let out a blood curdling scream and fell to the ground. She continued screaming and writing in pain as Bellatrix stood by and laughed. Hermione looked over and reacted quickly so she could help Ginny.

"Petrificus totalus!" Hermione said, the spell hitting Rodolphus right in the chest. He fell to the ground and Hermione put him in a body bind before going to help Ginny. "Watch him!" she yelled to Olivia as she ran to where Ginny and Bellatrix were.

Hermione thought, "Levicorpus!" and Bellatrix screamed because she was caught completely off guard by Hermione's jinx. She was hanging upside down, but she still had her wand. She tried to put the cruciatus curse on Hermione as well, but she dove out of the way. Hermione said, "Expelliarmus!" and Bellatrix's wand flew straight into her hand.

"You're fucking dead you little mud-"

"Silencio! Really, I think that would be you when the aurors get here." Hermione said twirling Bellatrix's wand between her fingers. She then put Bellatrix in a body bind as well, but still leaving her hanging upside down. Hermione's head shot over in Ginny's direction when she heard Ginny making a choking noise. Ginny was on the ground, coughing up blood. Hermione ran over to her.

"Ginny, tell me what hurts." Hermione put her hand on her forehead. "Shit, you're burning up!"

"My stomach." Ginny moaned before going into another coughing fit.

"Olivia, I have to get Ginny to St. Mungo's now. I will send some aurors along as soon as I can. I need you to stay here with these two. I have their wands. You will be fine." Olivia nodded; her face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Hermione helped Ginny up and together they apparated to St. Mungo's. They appeared right in the middle of the Emergency ward.

"We need a stretcher and some healers in here!" Hermione screamed still supporting Ginny.

"Hermione! What happened?" Solome said rushing over to her and Ginny. She helped Hermione support Ginny and looked Ginny over a bit.

"She's been put under the cruciatus curse. We need a stretcher. She has a high fever and has been coughing up blood. It's probably internal bleeding, so you'll need to-"

"All right Hermione, I have this. She'll be okay. Now are you okay?" Solome asked as more healers came over with the stretcher.

"I'm fine. We have bigger problems though. I've captured the Lestranges. I need aurors A.S.A.P!" Hermione told her long time friend.

"Go over to the desk and tell the woman that there is a code black. She'll get whatever information you have and send it to the Ministry to get you some help. Just tell them who you need if you want anyone specific." Solome said as they were getting ready to take Ginny to get treated for her injuries.

"Find Harry, please." she whispered before she began coughing once again as the blood filled her throat. Hermione squeezed her hand.

"I will." She kissed Ginny on the forehead before they took her away on the stretcher. Hermione then ran over to the front desk. "I need the Head of the Auror Department. Can you call over to the ministry? It's an emergency!" Hermione said to the witch at the desk.

"I know for a fact that the Head of the Auror Department is on vacation. Is there anything else I can do for you?" the woman stated without any concern in her voice.

"Harry. Right." Hermione whispered to herself. "Okay, fine. Get me Nymphadora Tonks then." Hermione told her.

"Do you mean Lupin?" the woman asked.

"Yes, damn it! This is a code black situation!" Hermione nearly yelled through clenched teeth. The woman's eyes grew wide as she sent a call through the floo for Tonks. Less than a minute later, Tonks apparated into the emergency ward of the hospital.

"Hermione! What the bloody hell is going on? I just got a call that there was a code black!" Tonks said running over to Hermione.

"I have the Lestranges." Hermione told Tonks in a whisper.

"WHAT?" Tonks cried.

"Yes! I have them at the muggle camp I've been at this summer. Can you get some back up to come with us?" Hermione asked.

"Of course! Just tell me when and where we need to go." Tonks said.

"All right. Let's go get the others and then I'll tell all of you where we are going." Hermione suggested.

"Sounds great, let's go!" Tonks said leading Hermione to the exit.

"Oh, I forgot to mention one thing." Hermione said stopping in the middle of the hallway. "Lucius Malfoy is there too, but Harry and Draco are dealing with him. I hope."

"Thanks for almost not telling me that minute little detail that is not important in the slightest Hermione! That makes this even more urgent, let's go. You just need to apparate into the atrium at the Ministry." Tonks told Hermione before spinning on the spot as she apparated to the Ministry. Hermione let out a long breath and followed her to the Ministry.

Meanwhile…

Come on, Father, give me your wand. You are outnumbered." Draco said, calmly reaching his hand toward his father. Lucius laughed in his face.

"You no longer have the right to call me father. You are no son of mine. You are a blood traitor and a fucking coward. You are not the son I raised. My son was powerful, and he would take my wand by force instead of being a bloody coward and asking for it. My son was not a mudblood lover. My son most definitely was not a boy who would run from the Dark Lord and bring shame upon his family! You are not my son." Lucius said with contempt; his wand was raised, unwavering, and pointed at Draco.

"You are right. I am not your son. I am a man and a decent human being. That is much more than I can say for you Lucius." Draco replied.

"Let me take a guess at why you are a man and I am not. You can love, so that makes you a man. Well, let me share something else with you. Love makes you weak. It has no strength over anything. Power is all that matters and those with vast power and control over it have no weaknesses, unlike those who think love is powerful. I am not foolish, and I do not love. You cannot defeat me, for I have no weaknesses." Lucius stated smugly. Lucius was so busy bragging that he was oblivious to what was happening around him. While he was busy bragging about his powers, about half a dozen aurors had appeared and were standing in the shadows, waiting for Harry's orders.

"You know what, Draco, after I am done with you, I think I will go find that mudblood whore of yours. Let's not keep her waiting, shall we?" Lucius said raising his wand. Before he could even mutter an incantation, he was hit with a stunning spell from Harry. Draco then put him in a body bind, and revived him.

"You do not even realize when you are wrong. You do have a weakness; your goddamn overconfidence." Draco said to him.

"What are you going to do now, Draco? Kill me?" Lucius asked in a mocking tone.

"No, I am not going to kill you. I am better than that. Have fun in Azkaban, father." Draco turned his back on his father as the aurors prepared to take him to Azkaban. Harry ran to catch up with him.

"Malfoy!" Harry yelled. Draco stopped and turned around. "Neville told me that the girls are at St. Mungo's!" They both exchanged a worried glance and apparated to the hospital without a word between them.

Back at St. Mungo's…

Draco and Harry both arrived in the waiting room at the same time. They both immediately began to look for any signs of Ginny or Hermione. Draco spotted a woman with brown bushy hair curled up on a chair in the waiting room. "Hermione!" he yelled. Her head shot up when she heard his voice. Her cheeks were wet with tears and her eyes were red and puffy. Draco and Harry ran over to where she was seated. Draco wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair.

Harry was frantically looking around, but Ginny was no where to be seen. "Hermione, where is Ginny?" he asked. Hermione let out a sob and detached herself from Draco. She took one of Harry's hands.

"She's been with the healers for the past few hours. They won't tell me anything because I'm not related to her. When I brought her here she was coughing up blood. Bellatrix and Rodolphus had found us. I think it's bad, Harry." Hermione told him as more tears cascaded down her cheeks. He sat down in the chair next to her and buried his face in his hands. Hermione kept a firm grip on his arm while Draco held her free hand. They sat in the waiting room, unmoving and silent, for the next hour. Their silence was interrupted when a voice called out from behind them.

"Hermione?" the voice said. Hermione looked up and saw the glum face of her close friend and healer, Solome. "I have some news on Ginny, but I can only tell her husband for now. Would you come with me Mr. Potter?" Harry nodded and slowly stood up. Solome led Harry to another corner of the waiting room where there were no other people around.

They were talking for about five minutes before Solome turned and walked away. Hermione's heart broke when she saw Harry's legs crumble beneath him as he slid to the ground. Harry drew his knees up to his chest and he did not move at all. Hermione turned and buried her face in Draco's chest, and he stroked her hair as she cried. Hermione could not help but wish that this was one of those moments that she was wrong about everything. Hermione knew this was not one of those moments; Harry's reaction to whatever it was Solome told him was heart wrenching. This time she was not wrong. There was something wrong with Ginny and it was bad. It was very bad.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Family

Hermione Granger did not know what to do. About five years ago, this feeling of uncertainty would have been abnormal, but by this time in her life she had grown used to it. She was trying to decide whether she should stay in Draco's comforting embrace, or go and comfort Harry. She did not know what was wrong with Ginny, and she was afraid to find out. She looked up and linked eyes with Draco. He gave her a slight nod and loosened his grip on her. He gave her a soft kiss on the lips before she stood up from her place in his lap.

She slowly walked over to Harry and sat beside him on the ground. Harry did not move and inch. His eyes continued to stare at a spot on the floor, and tears were spilling down his cheeks. Hermione was struggling to keep herself from crying because Harry did not need to worry about her at a time like this. She wrapped her arms around him as best as she could and pulled him into a hug.

She took his hand in her own and asked quietly, "Harry, what happened?" He pulled away from her, finally acknowledging Hermione's presence. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and resumed staring at the floor. "Harry?"

"It's all my fault." He whispered as another tear made its way down his already tear stained face.

"What is all your fault Harry?"

"She lost the baby." He sobbed burying his face in his arms. Hermione could not stop the tears any longer. She let the tears fall as she tightened her grip on his hand.

"She had a miscarriage?" Hermione asked. Harry did not even bother to answer her. He refused to look up as he continued to whisper, "It's all my fault."

"What did Solome say? Is Ginny all right?" At that moment, Harry's grief turned to anger.

"She's not all right! She lost a baby, OUR baby! The healer also mentioned that there is a good chance we won't be able to have any more children! Would YOU be all right, Hermione?" Harry yelled; his voice breaking up as his sorrow overwhelmed him once again. Hermione pulled him into another hug as he sobbed even harder. Harry held Hermione very tightly; as if she might disappear. Harry rested his head on Hermione's shoulder as he cried. They sat on the floor without realizing how much time had actually passed.

"Mr. Potter?" Harry and Hermione looked up to find Solome standing in front of them.

"Your wife is awake if you would like to see her." Harry nodded. He looked over to Hermione.

"You go first. Draco and I will meet you in a minute. What room is she in Solome?"

"She's in 318." Solome replied.

"I can find it without a problem. You go ahead and have some time alone with her." Hermione motioned for him to go with Solome. Harry released Hermione's hand and followed Solome down the hallway.

Hermione walked over to where Draco was sleeping in his chair. She smiled at his calm, sleeping form. She bent down and placed a light kiss on his forehead. She looked down and saw him looking up at her. She reached out her hand to help him stand up.

"What happened to Ginny?" Draco asked Hermione.

"She had a miscarriage." Hermione replied trying to stay calm. Draco's face fell and he hugged Hermione. "We can go see her now, but I don't want to stay too long. Harry needs some time alone with her." Draco nodded and took her hand. Hermione led him down the hallway that Solome had taken Harry down earlier. They reached room 318, and Hermione glanced over at Draco. He motioned toward the door. Hermione slowly turned the door knob and entered the room

Ginny was on the bed. Her face was pale, but she looked peaceful. Harry was seated at her side and he was holding Ginny's hand.

"How is she doing Harry?" Hermione asked.

"The healers say she's going to be fine, physically. They haven't told her about the baby yet. They are going to wait until she's fully conscious and that the medication has completely worn off." Harry paused and looked back at Ginny. Hermione saw the tears make their way down his face and decided that he needed more time with Ginny.

"We'll come back later Harry. Just spend some time with her. If you need to find us, we'll be in the waiting room, okay?" Harry did not move very much, but Hermione saw him give a small nod. She kissed him on the top of his head and squeezed his shoulder before she left the room with Draco.

They walked back to the waiting room and sat side by side on the couch. Draco glanced at Hermione and noticed that her eyelids were drooping, and she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

"Hermione, are you tired?" Draco asked. She opened her mouth to reply, but instead she let out a loud yawn. Draco smiled a little. "Come here. You can lie down, I don't mind." Hermione nodded sleepily and put her head in his lap. She took one of his hands and held it tightly in her own. Hermione was asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. Draco checked his watch and saw that it was about four in the morning. He tried to stay up, but after about an hour of fighting to stay awake, Draco succumbed to his exhaustion.

It was about 9:30 in the morning when Draco began to wake up. He had this strange feeling, like someone was watching him. He slowly opened his eyes. He looked down at Hermione. She was still knocked out. He then noticed that she was no longer the only one stretched out on the couch. Sometime while he was asleep he had shifted around on the couch, and they were both lying down. Hermione was half on top of Draco, and one of her arms was firmly wrapped around his abdomen.

He grinned at the sight of her messy hair. He reached out to remove a lock of hair from her face, but he stopped abruptly when he heard someone clear their throat from above him. Draco looked up and saw a man with bright red hair whose arm was wrapped around the waist of a very pregnant dark-skinned woman. They both had looks of shock and confusion on their faces. Fred Weasley locked eyes with Draco for a second, and Draco immediately began to wake up Hermione.

"Hermione, love, you have visitors." He whispered."No, tell Jess I'll feed the squirrels later." Hermione mumbled, burying her face in his chest. Draco chuckled and Fred raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

"No, I think it's a Weasley."

"OH SHIT! Bloody Hell, how did I forget the Weasleys?" Hermione sat straight up on the couch, but due to the lack of space she fell right off of the couch onto the floor. Draco laughed at her. She glared at him from her spot on the floor. Her lips were pursed and she did not look too happy.

"Draco Malfoy don't you ever scare me like that again!" she yelled while punching him in the arm. Draco let out a yelp of pain and rubbed his arm. Fred grinned, but Hermione was so focused on Draco that she had not even noticed Fred and Angelina yet. Hermione's face grew serious. Draco began to get worried as her eyes started to water.

"We forgot to tell the Weasleys!" she cried. She jumped up off of the floor. She turned around and ran right into someone standing behind her. She looked up to see who she had knocked in to; it was Fred. 

"Fred! Angelina!" tears leaked from her eyes as she gave Angelina a short hug and then wrapped her arms around Fred in a firm hug. He patted her back awkwardly.

"We just came here for Angelina to get a check up because she's been having some problems with the baby, but she's fine. You on the other hand don't look too fine. What's going on Hermione?" she wiped her eyes and looked up at Fred sadly.

"Ginny's here in the hospital Fred."

"What happened? Is she all right?" Fred asked as he began to tremble.

"We got attacked at the camp. The Lestranges and Lucius Malfoy found us. Bellatrix hit Ginny with a very strong Cruciatus curse. I subdued them and brought Ginny here as soon as I could. She's in her room with Harry at the moment. She's doing okay for now. She was pregnant, Fred, but the curse caused her to lose the baby." Fred's eyes began to fill up with tears. This broke Hermione's heart because she had not seen Fred cry since the end of the war.

"Have you told mum and dad? Where are James and Ron?" his voice was strained and it was clear that he was trying to keep himself from crying.

"James and Ron are with my friends at camp. There are aurors stationed there for now, I promise you that they are safe. And I feel so horrible that I totally forgot about Molly and Arthur! I can't believe I was so stupid!" Hermione covered her face with her hands.

"Don't worry Hermione, we know you were busy taking care of Ginny. Angie and I will go tell everyone. Just stay and make sure she's all right, for us." Fred reassured her even though his voice was still weak and shaky. Hermione hugged him once again before he took Angelina's hand and they walked quickly toward the lift. Hermione turned to Draco and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. He held her tightly.

"Ginny is probably up now. Do you want to go see her, Hermione?" Draco suggested. Hermione nodded and dropped her arms. She then took his hand and led him down the hallway.

They entered Ginny's room silently. Harry was sitting on the bed and Ginny was curled up beside him. He was softly stroking her hair, and they were quietly talking to each other. Hermione knocked on the door so that they knew that she and Draco were there. Ginny and Harry looked up. Ginny had tears stains covering her cheeks. Her face was stricken, but her eyes lit up slightly when she saw Hermione. Ginny motioned for Hermione to come over and sit next to her on the bed. As soon as Hermione sat on the bed, Ginny enveloped her in a hug. Hermione did not know what to say. Ginny was in so much pain, yet she seemed to think of how to comfort Hermione instead of worrying about herself. Hermione returned Ginny's hug with all her strength.

At that moment, the doors flew open and a mob of people, led by Molly Weasley, entered Ginny's room. Ginny's teary eyes locked with Hermione's and Ginny whispered, "Thank you." Hermione moved from her spot on the bed in just enough time. After she stood up, Mrs. Weasley seized Ginny and wrapped her arms around her tightly. The two women were crying together as the other members of the Weasley family made their way into the room.

Angelina, Penelope and Annabella all had tears streaming down their face by the time Arthur went over to Ginny and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Penelope had baby Elizabeth in her arms, and Elizabeth was fast asleep. Charlie's son,Will, was looking around at the adults with a confused look on his face. Charlie was holding his hand so that he didn't run around and disrupt anything.

When Molly and Arthur went over to talk with Harry, Ginny's brothers gathered around her and they each gave her firm hugs.

"How are you feeling Gin?" Fred asked twisting his hands nervously. She gave him a small smile.

"I'm doing better. I'm still… I don't know. I'm upset and lost and heartbroken and so many things at once. I just feel empty. Right now all I want to do is go home." Ginny told her brothers despondently. Percy took her hand and wiped away her tears. Suddenly, the doors opened. Everyone turned to see who it was. Neville was at the door. Two children immediately ran into the room once Neville moved out of the way.

"MUMMY!" Ron and James ran over to Ginny and they tried to climb onto the bed. Fred and Charlie helped them up onto the bed. Ginny smiled at her boys with tears in her eyes.

"No crying mum. We have stuff to tell you!" Ron said with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, lots!" James agreed. "Nev saw it! Tell 'em Nev!"

Neville smiled nervously. "Harry, Ginny, did you guys know Ron and James could do magic? Your friend Mark woke up with green hair, and that guy Josh woke up with out any eyebrows. It was quite funny." The Weasleys all laughed to spite the situation, and Fred beamed more than anyone. "They were pretty shocked, but I set them back to normal and decided it would be best if I dropped the boys off with you all. The nurse told me where you were. I best be off though. I hope you feel better Ginny, and I'm sorry about what happened." Neville said before he left the room.

"Well, I'm pretty sure Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is staying in the family." Fred ruffled up Ron and James hair. Everyone laughed again as the boy's eyes lit up.

Ron and James had improved the solemn mood that had overtaken the hospital room. They told their family what they did at camp, and their silly antics and funny stories kept the family's sorrow at bay. For a moment, they could be together as a family. No one questioned Draco's presence. He was a part of Hermione, Hermione was a part of the Weasleys, and they were all family, no matter what. With the threat from outside no longer existent, they were able to live, laugh, and love freely and without worry for the first time in their lives.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Sleeping Ferrets and Wedding Plans

Hermione was standing beneath the willow tree in the backyard of the Burrow. The warm summer air was blowing, whipping her thick brown hair around her face. She pulled her hair back with a hair band so that she could see without her hair obstructing her vision. She lowered her eyes to the ground and gazed at the small, beautifully polished stone near the trunk of the tree. On the stone, there was a small inscription.

In Loving Memory of

Hayden Potter

August 15, 2004

The Weasleys had put the small monument under the tree on the Monday that Ginny returned home from the hospital. She had been in the hospital for about two weeks, mostly just for observation. Since then, Harry and Ginny had been staying at the Burrow instead of their own home. Everyone understood that it was most likely so that they could be surrounded by their family. Molly and Arthur were only too happy to have them and the boys at home, and she was a huge help.

Hermione had also taken up residency at the Burrow for the time being. Draco had returned to camp the day after Ginny woke up because he simply could not be away from the camp for very long. Hermione had not seen him for two weeks, and she missed him terribly. He had called the Burrow a few times, but that only made her miss him all the more.

The two weeks since Draco left passed so slowly that Hermione felt like it had been more like months since she had seen him last. She needed to be near him, hear his voice, feel his touch, and feel his lips on hers. She felt as if she would go insane if she did not see him soon. Hermione knew that since it was the last day in August, that camp ended today and everyone would be going home for the school year. She didn't know if she would see Draco because there were a lot of things to finish up even after the summer had ended.

Her reverie was broken when she heard the grass rustling as someone approached her. She looked up and saw Harry making his way toward her. As he reached Hermione he gave her a small smile. He kept eye contact with her, and she could tell that he was trying to keep his eyes away from the memorial on the ground right behind her.

"Do you want to come out front with me Hermione? We could stun gnomes or something." He suggested. Hermione returned his smile and nodded.

"Sure. Let's go." She said as they linked arms and walked to the front of the Burrow together. They sat down on the ground by the bushes that lined the front of the house. They didn't speak, but Hermione knew that all Harry really wanted was some company. He had been feeling guilty, and Hermione knew that he tried to solve his problems by not telling anyone what he was really feeling. She knew he would eventually confide in either her or Ginny, but she wasn't going to push him into doing anything that he didn't want to do.

Ginny was inside and most likely spending time with Ron and James. She never let them leave her side as of late, and she seemed to think that if she lost sight of them for a second, they would disappear. It had been two weeks since they had lost the baby, and Harry and Ginny had not really changed or recovered at all. Hermione didn't expect them to ever get over it fully, and she realized that it may take them months to get back to even a semblance of normality.

Hermione and Harry sat side by side watching the gnomes waddle around the front yard. Hermione jumped when Harry suddenly took his wand out of his pocket and stunned one of the gnomes. He let out a long breath and sat back down next to Hermione.

"Sorry, Hermione. I just needed to." He told her.

"I get it. Don't worry. You know, we could probably stun them all and get rid of them. I doubt Molly and Arthur would mind. Or we could do it the way we used to before we could use magic." Hermione suggested. Harry nodded and the corners of his mouth twitched a little. They both got up from the ground and began picking up gnomes and swinging them around and around over their heads. Soon gnomes were flying through the air. About half an hour later, Harry and Hermione collapsed on the ground, exhausted from their hard work. Hermione suddenly was overcome with giggles.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked. Hermione smiled.

"Their just so funny! I know you may not remember this, but those gnomes after we spin them around look kind of like when you and Ron used to go out and get totally drunk. You guys would come home and stumble around the house just like those gnomes!" Hermione said before she once again dissolved into laughter. Harry couldn't laugh but laugh too because her laughter was infectious. Hermione was happy because this was the first time she had seen Harry truly smile since the attack.

They both sobered up immediately when they heard someone apparate not too far away. They both put their hands on their wands and looked around. Hermione jumped up and suppressed a squeal when she saw who was walking toward them. Draco had his suitcase with him and he was slowly walking to Hermione with a smile on his face. Hermione started running toward him and she launched herself at him as soon as he was within reach. She wrapped her legs firmly around his waist and he arms were locked around his neck.

His arms tightened around her back and they held each other close. His hold on her never wavered, but to his surprise she loosened her grip on his neck. Instead she took her hands, placed them on his cheeks, and guided his lips to hers. Their lips slowly moved together, each of them savoring the feel of the others lips. Hermione opened her mouth as they deepened the kiss. When their tongues touched warmth flowed through both of their bodies, and they felt whole again; like a missing piece had finally been put back in place. Hermione was a little disappointed when Draco broke the kiss.

"I missed you." He whispered, putting his forehead against hers.

"I missed you too." She replied. He placed one last lingering kiss on her lips before she removed her legs from his waist and placed them back on the ground. He picked up his suitcase and Hermione took his free hand and linked her fingers with his. They walked over to where Harry was standing, near the front door of the house.

"Malfoy." Harry said giving Malfoy a slight nod.

"Potter." Draco replied, tipping his head in acknowledgment. Hermione beamed.

"Let's head on inside, shall we. I really hope Molly and Arthur don't mind you staying." Hermione said reaching for the doorknob.

"Staying? I'm not staying. I can't impose on them like that." He said as Hermione opened the door. "I just came to see if you were ready to come back to camp with me." Hermione led him into the living room and they sat down. Harry told them he was going to find Ginny and he went upstairs.

"I can't leave now Draco. Not with everything the way it is." She told him with sadness in her voice.

"Hermione, things aren't likely to change very much anytime soon. They'll be fine with their family, and I don't know how much longer I can be without you." He told her.

"I'm a part of their family too! They need me!" Hermione said standing up from the couch.

"I need you, too."

"Then stay here! Molly and Arthur won't mind." Hermione told him.

"I just can't stay here! I don't belong here. These people have hated me since I was born! Why do you think that's all of a sudden going to change and they're going to let me stay in their house?" shouted Draco.

"Because you changed! You are not the same boy you used to be, Draco Malfoy. You have to let yourself remember that! Don't think that you have to keep punishing yourself for the past! Let it go, because you deserve to be happy. Stop thinking about things that are history and look to the future. Just open up those grey eyes and look around!" she yelled. She collapsed on the couch and put her head in her hands. Draco sat beside her and removed her hands from her face.

"I see you." He said in a whisper.

"What?" she asked quizzically, her voice a little raspy.

"When I look to the future, many things may be uncertain but, I see you." He said taking her hand. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. After some time she let him go and then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Let's go talk to Molly and see what she says. You will be pleasantly surprised." She said making her way into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was washing some dishes. "Molly?" Mrs. Weasley looked up and saw Hermione standing with Draco in the doorway.

"Oh, Hermione. And Draco too! Well come on in dears I'll get you something to eat." Molly motioned for them to enter the kitchen. Draco and Hermione sat down at the table as Molly bustle around the kitchen getting things to make some sandwiches.

"Actually Molly, I was wondering if it was okay to Draco to stay here for a while." Hermione asked.

"Of course, dear! He can stay in Fred and - Fred's old room." Molly paused for a second and took a deep breath. "You can show it to him, Hermione. I would just suggest that he doesn't touch anything really because I think that Fred keeps some things in there for the shop, and we don't want Draco getting hurt. Especially since we know what my son is capable of." Hermione smiled and Molly handed them their sandwiches.

"Thank you so much Molly!" Hermione said taking the sandwiches and standing up. "I'll go take him up there now."

"I would like you all down here in about an hour for dinner." Molly told them.

"All right. We'll be here." Hermione exited the kitchen with Draco and led him upstairs to the second floor. She opened the door to Fred and George's old room. "Here you go." Draco stepped inside and set down his suitcase. As he looked around he noticed several boxes as well as little odds and ends dispersed throughout the room.

"So I shouldn't touch anything, except for the bed, because I might get hurt?" He looked around the room warily.

"Yeah. Fred keeps some of his things for his joke shop in here, and some of the things that he invents can be pretty dangerous." Hermione smiled at the thought of Fred and George huddled in their room inventing things.

"Okay. Sounds good to me." Draco fell back onto the bed and closed his eyes. "Do you think Mrs. Weasley would care if I just skipped dinner? I just want to sleep at the moment." Draco said yawning.

"I don't think so. You can just sleep and I'll see you in the morning. And if you need anything, I'm sleeping in the room at the very top of the stairs." Draco nodded and Hermione gave him a light kiss on the lips before she exited the bedroom.

She walked down to the living room and saw Harry and Ginny playing chess while the twins were fast asleep on the couch. Harry and Ginny both looked up as Hermione entered the living room. "How's Malfoy doing Hermione?" Harry asked.

"He's doing fine. He said that he was tired so he just went to sleep." Harry nodded and went back to concentrating on the game. Hermione sat down next to Ginny and watched them play their game of chess. This was how they normally passed their days. Everything was always quiet, and moments of laughter were few and far between. Even the twins seemed to have picked up on the adult's somber mood, and they had calmed down considerably.

Nothing eventful happened that evening. They had all gone into the kitchen and eaten dinner with Arthur and Molly. After dinner, Hermione made her way up to Ron's room on the fifth floor. She changed into her night clothes and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

The next morning Hermione woke up at about eight o'clock and went down to the kitchen. Everyone seemed to be up, except for Draco. Arthur, Harry, Ginny, and the twins were sitting and eating breakfast while Molly seemed to still be cooking food.

"Morning, Hermione." Arthur said with a smile on his face. "I heard we have a new visitor who is currently in Fred's old room."

Hermione sat down at the table and nodded. "He's still asleep, I think. I'm not going to bother waking him until later. He's had a rough couple of weeks, so I'm just going to let him rest." Hermione helped herself to some toast and coffee. Harry and Ginny ate their breakfast in silence while Arthur and Hermione chatted animatedly about what was going on in the Misuse of Muggle artifacts department at the Ministry.

"Recently, we've been having a lot of problems with the illegal sale of flying carpets. Ali Bashir won't give up. Their have been more and more reports of him smuggling carpets into Britain than –"

"Uncle Fred!" The twins shouted pointing at the door way. Everyone turned and saw Fred standing in the doorway. "Well, I guess my stealth capabilities have gotten worse. I'm just going to nip up to my room and get some things then I'll pop back down here for breakfast." He ran up the stair before anyone could stop him.

"Oh, Dear." Molly sighed. Hermione jumped out of her seat, but she didn't even make it to the second floor before Fred was already on his way back down.

"Mum, there was a ferret in my bed." Fred said holding up the white rodent.

"Oh Fred, you didn't!" Hermione cried taking Draco from his grasp. Fred smiled broadly, but then his smile disappeared when he saw the look of fury on his mothers face. Harry and Ginny were shaking with laughter in their seats. Hermione placed the ferret on the ground, pulled out her wand, and transfigured Draco back to his human form.

"Draco are you okay?" Hermione asked. He stood up and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just never thought that that would happen twice in a lifetime." Draco said rubbing his head. Harry and Ginny, along with the others in the kitchen, laughed at his comment.

"Sorry about that, mate. I never thought I would find a Malfoy sleeping in my room." Fred clapped Draco on the shoulder. Before sitting down and helping himself to some breakfast. Draco followed suit, and sat down across from Harry and Ginny at the table. Soon everyone was sitting and eating happily and peacefully. At about 9 o'clock three owls flew into the kitchen. There was an owl with the Daily Prophet, Chip with some mail for Arthur, and, to Hermione's surprise, Pig. Hermione reached over and got the letter from Pig.

"What is it?" Draco asked after Hermione opened the letter. Hermione smiled and handed him the letter.

"My parent's sent it to me. It's Sarah and Jessie's wedding invitation!" Hermione exclaimed. Draco opened the invitation.

Together with their families

Sarah Ann Thomas and Nathan Evan Tucker

And

Jessica Clarice Florence and Joshua Allen Walker

Request the pleasure of your company

As they exchange wedding vows

Saturday, the thirtieth of April

Two thousand and five

Camp Shadow Rock

Ipswich, England

"They're getting married at camp?" Hermione asked. Draco nodded. "You already knew and you didn't tell me!" Draco grinned. Hermione hit him in the arm.

"Ouch! That was unnecessary!" he told her rubbing his arm.

"Maybe to you it was, but I feel much better now." Hermione said in a pleased manner. Draco scowled, and the whole table laughed in response.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: The Future

6 months later…

It was the night before Jessica, Josh, Sarah, and Nathan's wedding. The Mess Hall at Camp Shadow Rock was decorated and all of the food was prepared for the rehearsal dinner. All of the guests were being housed at the camp so that they could attend the wedding the following afternoon. The wedding party and all of the guests were currently getting ready to attend the rehearsal dinner. Excitement was in the warm spring air, and everyone was prepared for the night's events. Well, almost everyone was ready.

"Hermione, have you seen my-"

"It's in here in the wardrobe!" Hermione called to Draco from the vanity in their bedroom. Draco hurried into the room and walked over to the closet. He pulled out the blue tie that he had been looking for. He smiled and made his way over to Hermione before gently placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks." He told her. She smiled and began to put on her earrings while Draco started to tie his tie. After he had finished with his tie, he realized that he did not know where his cuff links were.

"Hey, Hermione, have you seen those-"

"Cuff links?" she said cutting him off again. "Yes, they're on the table next to the couch in the living room." Draco walked into the next room and, sure enough, his cuff links were exactly where she said they would be. Draco walked back into their bedroom and leaned against the door post while putting on his cuff links and watching Hermione fix her hair.

"I honestly don't know what I would do without you." He told her. She stood up from her chair and walked over to Draco with a slight smirk on her face.

"I don't think you would be able to do much. If I wasn't here, you would probably be having a nervous breakdown trying to find all of your things!" Hermione said shaking her head and walking into the living room to find her shoes. Draco followed her into the next room and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. She smiled and melted into his embrace before turning around and placing her arms around his neck. She rested her head against his chest and let out a long, calm breath. They stood in each other's arms for a while before Draco stepped back and took Hermione's hand.

"Come with me for a minute." He asked, guiding Hermione towards the door.

"The dinner starts in less than half an hour!" Hermione pointed out.

"I know it does. We won't be late, I promise." He told her, gazing into her eyes.

"Okay, but only for a minute!" she agreed following him outside. He took her hand and led her a short way up a path that was behind their cabin. Hermione smiled when she realized that he was taking her to their secret spot. They walked hand in hand up the path through the forest. There was silence between the couple as they listened to the wind move through the trees, and listened to the sounds of nature that surrounded them.

When they reached the top of the hill, they both gazed at the scenery. The whole camp was visible from this one spot. Various people could be seen making their way toward the Mess Hall in small groups, the light from the Mess Hall flooding out of the doors and illuminating the pathway from the cabins to the cafeteria. Hermione looked up at Draco and noticed the uneasy look taking over his handsome features.

"I think now would be the time to tell me why we're up here instead of down there." She said motioning to the Mess Hall below them. There was a moment of silence before Draco answered her.

"Do you remember the first time that we were up here together?" he asked her. Her gaze fell to the ground as she tightened her grip on his hand.

"I try not to. It's not a memory that I'm particularly fond of." She said solemnly. He took her waist and pulled her into his arms.

"Tell me why." She swallowed and let out a shaky breath.

She closed her eyes and whispered, "We had just had a row. It was right after I arrived here. It was about Ron and I just…" she stopped when she felt Draco pull away from her. She opened her eyes and saw Draco down on one knee. Her breath caught in her throat, and a tear slipped from her eye. "What are you doing?"

"Hermione, I love you." He said before reaching up and wiping the tear from her cheek. "I want you to be happy. I don't want your past and all of the memories that come with it to cause you pain. I want you to have the best, because it's what you deserve. I don't ever want to see you cry these tears again. I want to be there for you for the rest of your life; to hold, care for you, and love you. Will you let me?" he asked, taking the ring from his pocket and holding it before her.

Her hands went to the chain that was currently around her neck; the chain that held the ring from Ron. She slowly undid the clasp of the chain, and took it from her neck. She did not even glance at the ring before putting it into her purse. She locked eyes with Draco who was still patiently awaiting her response. "Yes." She replied with a smile on her face. He slid the simple diamond ring onto her finger. Hermione could not hold back the tears any longer, and they began to spill down her cheeks. Draco stood up from the ground and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"They're happy tears, I promise." She whispered into his ear. He looked into her eyes before placing a gentle, loving kiss on her lips. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and took her left hand.

"Come on we're going to be late." Together they walked down the path and made their way to the Mess Hall. Every so often Draco would run his thumb over the ring on her finger, causing her to smile every time.

They arrived pretty much on time, and there were only a few more people coming in when they sat down. Hermione was wondering how long it would take for someone to notice her ring. She was still in a state of astonishment at what had happened earlier, so she barely noticed what was going on around her. She remembered hearing Mark make a small speech, and then hearing some people get up to get their dinner. She looked down at her ring every few minutes and smiled. Her reverie was broken by Draco tapping on her shoulder.

"Come on. Let's go get something to eat." She smiled and nodded as he held his hand out to her. She gladly took his hand and they went to get their food with the rest of the wedding party. Jessica came up next to Hermione in the line for dinner.

"You've been awfully quiet tonight, Jay. Are you okay?" she asked her best friend.

"I'm doing fine. I'm not feeling very talkative tonight Jessie." Hermione said nonchalantly. Jessie nodded.

"I was just making sure." She said smiling at Hermione.

Dinner passed by pretty quickly, and before Hermione knew it, they were outside practicing the processional for the wedding the following day. Hermione was the maid of honor for both Sarah and Jessica, and Allison was the other bridesmaid. Mark was Josh and Nathan's best man, and Draco was the other groomsman. They ran through the ceremony, and it took forever. It was 10 o'clock before Sarah and Jessica were sure that everything was perfect.

Everyone went off to bed so that they could be well rested for the wedding the next day. Hermione and Draco reached their cabin and collapsed onto the couch. Hermione took off her heels and placed them on the ground loudly before starting to rub her feet.

"I have half a mind to murder the two of them right now. My feet are killing me! There was no need for that rehearsal to take 2 hours!" Draco chuckled and Hermione couldn't help but grin at his laughter. Draco patted the couch.

"Put your feet up." He said. She did as he asked, and he began to rub her feet. Hermione smiled and relaxed against the side of the couch.

"Thanks." She closed her eyes as the pain began to slowly go away. Reflecting back on the night, she realized that no one had noticed the ring. "Hey, Draco, do you thinks it's odd that no one noticed the ring."

"Kind of. I think Jessie and Sarah would have noticed if they weren't so stressed out today. Give it some time, they'll figure it out eventually." Hermione nodded before he let out a long yawn. Draco laughed and said, "I think it's time to go to sleep."

"Me too." Hermione said. They both got up off of the couch and went into the bedroom. They both changed out of their outfits from dinner and into their bed clothes. They slipped under the sheets and Hermione curled up next to Draco.

"Goodnight, love." Draco said placing a kiss on her forehead. Hermione smiled.

"Goodnight." She replied as she closed her eyes.

It was about two in the morning, and Hermione was still lying awake. She could not sleep, and she had an idea of why. She glanced at the ring on her finger and smiled, but at the same time, something was still bothering her. She then remembered that she had taken the chain from around her neck. The ring she had been given from Ron was in her purse in the living room, and she knew that it could not stay there. She pulled back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked her in a groggy voice.

"There's something I have to do." She told him.

"I'll come with you." He said moving to get out of bed.

"No. I have to do this on my own. I'll be back, I promise." She kissed him on the forehead and left the bedroom to go and find her purse. She found her purse on the floor by the door and picked it up. She opened it, and took a sharp breath as she felt the cold metal of the ring. She held it firmly in her hand, picked up her wand, and apparated to go and see him one last time.

The air in the graveyard was unusually chilly for the end of April. Hermione looked around at that darkness that surrounded her and took a deep breath. She walked the familiar path through the graveyard that led to where he was laid to rest. She reached his tombstone, and sat down on the ground. She once again traced the epitaph inscribed on the fine piece of granite. _Beloved son, brother, and friend. _She held back the tears in her eyes as she took the ring and placed it on the grass next to his tombstone.

"I loved you, Ron. A part of me always will, but I have to let it go. I have to let us go. I can't keep asking what could have been; I won't keep asking what could have been. I'm going to focus on what the future and my life with Draco. I love him, Ron. I really do; and I know he loves me too. I can't do this to myself any longer. I'm going to turn away and never look back." Her voice faded to a whisper as she ran her fingertips over the cold granite tombstone. She stood up and began to walk away. She never looked back, but instead looked to her future with Draco.

She apparated back to her cabin at camp, and slipped quietly back into her bed at about 4 o'clock. She moved over to Draco's side of the bed and wrapped her arms around his torso. She felt him wrap his arm around her wait and hold her tightly. "Are you all right?" he asked. He did not sound as if he had gone back to sleep.

"Now I am." she laid her head on his chest and fell into a peaceful sleep; the most peaceful sleep that she had had in 4 long years.

She did not get to sleep for very long because she was abruptly awakened by her two best friends about 5 hours later.

"Hermione wake up! We only have four hours to get ready!" Sarah said loudly yanking back the sheets on the bed. Hermione groaned and rubbed her eyes. She looked over and saw that Draco had already left to go and hang out with the guys "Come on, come on!"

"I'm up, relax, Sarah!" Hermione pushed herself up off of the bed and made her way over to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower and then meet you guys in the Blue Jay cabin, okay?"

"All right, but hurry up! The wedding starts in 4 hours!" Sarah yelled before exiting the front door of the cabin. Hermione slowly made her way to the bathroom to take her shower. She was done in 15 minutes, and then pulled on some shorts and a t-shirt before leaving to go get ready. She slowly plodded along the path to the Blue Jay cabin, taking as much time as she could. She knew for a fact that getting ready for this wedding was going to be chaotic and completely crazy.

She opened the door to the cabin cautiously and then stepped inside. The two wedding dresses and two bridesmaid dresses were hanging on one of the bunk beds, still in their bags from the store. Sarah, Jessica, and Allison were seated on the floor getting out all of the make-up, hair products, and other things that they were going to need.

"Finally! Hermione we've only got three and a half hours left! We are going to start with hair, and you are going first. It may take us a solid hour or two to sort out that mane you've got on your head." Jessica said.

"Hey!" Hermione replied. "It's not that bad." Her three friends all looked at her in disbelief. "Okay, fine, it is that bad." The girls smiled in triumph as they all started to tame the wild mess of brown curls atop Hermione's head.

3 hours later…

"Has anyone seen the shoes and the gloves?" Sarah asked frantically searching the suitcases.

"What about my earrings?" Jessica asked. Hermione and Allison exchanged humorous glances at the frantic brides.

"Alli and I have our gloves." Hermione said holding them up.

"The shoes are over by the door." Allison said pointing over to the front door.

"And your earrings are on the sink in the bathroom." Hermione said with a chuckle. With only half an hour before the wedding, Sarah and Jessica were getting a little anxious about everything.

"Thanks guys." Sarah said slipping on her white heels. "You two need to get those gloves on now, we're going to leave in like 5 minutes." Allison and Hermione nodded and picked up their gloves. Hermione hesitated. She couldn't put the gloves on over her ring, and she was not going to take it off.

"Hermione, put on the gloves, we have to go! The carriage is outside to take us down to the field." Sarah said walking over to Hermione.

"I, um, can't"

"What?" Hermione held up her hand and Sarah's eyes nearly popped out of her hand. "Jessie! Come here and see this!" Sarah squealed. Jessica came running from the other room. Sarah lifted up my hand and Jessica's eyes grew wide as well.

"Draco?" she asked. I nodded.

"When?" Jessica asked.

"Last night before dinner." I responded.

"And you didn't tell us!" they said simultaneously.

"I wanted to see how long it would take for you to notice." They both screamed and gave me delicate hugs so that they wouldn't mess up their hair, make-up, or dress. Allison had finished putting the final touches on her make-up and she joined us in front of the cabin. We all got into the hose drawn carriage that was to carry us all to the field where everyone was waiting. Sarah, who was sitting next to Hermione, leaned over to Hermione.

"Does that mean you're over, well, Ron?" Sarah asked warily. I smiled.

"It's not that I'm over it; I don't think I ever will be. It's a part of my past that I will never forget, but I am moving past it, and leaving the pain of what happened where it should stay; in the past." Sarah nodded and squeezed her hand.

The carriage arrived at the field and Hermione could see Draco standing up with Josh, Nathan, and Mark in front of the guests. The two lovers locked eyes and smiled at each other. Hermione knew her future would be bright, because Draco was a part of it. There was no heartache in store for her, for Draco would be there to hold her, take care of her, and love her for the rest of her life.

* * *

**A/N: This is the last chapter. I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read and review my story! There will be an epilogue that I am going to post very shortly! Thanks again for reading, and please leave me a review to tell me what you think of my story!!**


	23. Epilogue

Chapter 23: Epilogue

14 Years Later…

The summer sunlight shone through the curtains of the director's cabin at Camp Shadow Rock. It was mid-August, and all of the campers had gone home for the summer. The cabin was oddly quiet, and that was what caused Draco Malfoy to wake earlier than he normally would have. He glanced over at his wife of 13 years and smiled. She was fast asleep and her chest was rising and falling softly with every breath she took. His eyes moved to her stomach and smiled even wider. She was about 7 months pregnant with their fourth child. Now all he had to do was find out where the other three were.

He kissed her on the forehead and climbed out of bed. He pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shit before slipping on his trainers and going out into the living room. The kitchen was empty as were all of the bedrooms. This was strange for the kids were normally pestering him and Hermione for breakfast right about now. He decided to head outside and see if they were down by the lake or the basketball court.

He exited the cabin and decided to walk down to the basketball court first. When he got about halfway down the path, he could hear laughing and people talking. He walked down the hill toward the basketball and shook his head at the sight in front of him. His two daughters, Amanda, who was 9, and Elyse, who was 4, were sitting on the grass beside the court laughing at the predicament their brother was in. Alexander, who was 11, was running around trying to get the basketball from two older boys; Ron and James Potter to be exact. The twins both towered over him by about two feet, and it was quite funny to watch.

"Ron and James Potter, what are you two doing here?" Draco asked, deciding to intervene. They both stopped tossing the ball and grinned at Draco. Elyse hopped up from her spot on the grass and ran to grab her father's hand.

"We just decided to _pop _in for a visit." They replied together.

"So you got your apparition licenses then?" he confirmed.

"Yup. On the first try too." Ron said proudly.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks." They replied in unison once again.

"Hey, dad, what's apparition?" Alex asked curiously. Draco looked at Ron and James.

"Do you guys want to show them?" Draco asked.

"Why don't you, Draco. You've been doing it longer than us." James pointed out.

"I might splinch myself. I haven't apparated in almost 20 years." He told them. The twins exchanged confused glances and shrugged. They both raised their wands and concentrated hard; a loud 'crack' filled the air. Elyse screamed and wrapped her arms around her fathers leg, while Alex and Amanda stared with wide eyes at Ron and James who had disappeared and reappeared about 20 meters away from them.

"Whoa." Alex said when the twins reached the Malfoy family. "That was so cool. I'll be able to learn how to do that when I go to Hogwarts, won't I dad?"

"Not right away, but eventually." Draco told his only son. Amanda looked excited as well; she would be going to Hogwarts in about 2 years. He looked down as he felt Elyse tug on his hand.

"I'm hungry. Can we go back to the house now?" she said in a small voice.

"Yes. We need to go check on your mum too. I have a feeling she probably heard these two," he said pointing to the twins, "apparate. She's probably worried out of her mind." Draco led the lot of them up toward the cabin. When they reached the house, he slowly opened the door and went inside. He left the kids in the living room and went in to the bedroom to check on Hermione. He was surprised to find that she was, in fact, still fast asleep.

He smiled and left the room because she needed her sleep and he smelled something burning. Entering the kitchen, he saw Ron and James trying to make toasts with their wands; even Hermione couldn't do that. He walked over and picked the blackened toast up off of the table.

"Believe it or not, there is an easier way." He smirked at the twins and walked over to the toaster. "Would you care to demonstrate Amanda?" his oldest daughter walked over and out two slices of bread into the toaster, and pushed down the button. She smiled and the twins looked a little peeved. Elyse smiled sweetly.

"I could have told you guys that." Elyse told the twins, and Draco laughed at the scowls on their faces. Suddenly, Hermione appeared in the kitchen.

"What is going on? I smelled something burning." Hermione waddled out of the bedroom to find the two Potters sitting at the kitchen table with her family. "Ron, James, what are you doing here so early? I told Ginny to send you over tonight before we leave for the reunion. That's not for a while." Hermione reminded them, ruffling both of their hair a bit.

"We decided to relieve you and Draco early. Mum suggested that you both go over and hang out at our house until you have to leave for Hogwarts. She said you're welcome to get ready there, and she has some baby updates." Hermione's face lit up more, if that was even possible.

"They found out the sex of the baby already? Is it a boy or a girl?" Hermione asked earnestly.

"We can't tell you because mum and dad want to tell you themselves." Ron said grinning. Hermione smiled and shook her head. She looked over to the clock on the wall to check the time; it was about 10 in the morning.

"So can we go over there now?" Draco and the twins laughed, and Ron and James nodded.

"They're expecting you anytime now. We told them we'd send you along as soon as we got here."

"Oh! We mustn't keep them waiting! Come on, Draco, let's get our stuff and head over there!" she said grabbing his hand and pulling him toward their bedroom. He glared half- heartedly at the twins before he disappeared into the bedroom, causing them to laugh out loud.

Hermione rushed around the room as fast as she could, gathering up the clothes that she was planning to wear that evening. She took her gown and dress robes out of the closet, along with her comfy ballet flats that she would be wearing, and placed them on the bed. Draco just sat on the bed and smirked, watching his wife as she bustled around the room. When she had gotten all of her things together, she collapsed on the bed next to Draco.

"Are you ready yet? I really want to leave like, now." He didn't move. She looked up at him and saw a grin on his face. She shook her head and placed a kiss on his lips. "Stop stalling. I know that's what you're doing. No matter how much you tell yourself you don't want to go to this reunion, you know you really want to go. It's going to be fun! You haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts for 20 years!"

Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione and hugged her to his chest. "That's just it. It's been 20 years. The last time any of those people saw me, I was running out of Hogwarts with Severus after he had killed Dumbledore. Why do you think I've stayed here all these years?"

"Because you love it here, and that's beside the point. It's time to go out and show everyone you're happy and alive and doing well. No one is going to bother you, really. Trust me. For one, you married me. Two, every one of them knows you were cleared of the death eater charges, unless they live under a rock. Third, Harry and Gin will be there. You know the whole lot of them worship the ground he walks on, so most of the attention will be on them anyway; especially since Ginny's pregnant, too." Draco let out a small chuckle.

"I'm being silly aren't I?" he said placing a kiss on her temple.

"Very." She flashed him a bright smile and got up off of the bed. She took his hand and pulled him up as well. "Get your dress robes and meet me by the fire place. No more stalling, okay?" He nodded and placed a light kiss on her lips. She smiled and walked out of the room with her things. Draco took a deep breath, grabbed his dress robes from the wardrobe, and followed Hermione out into the living room.

"We're all ready to go." He announced. Elyse hopped up from the table and ran over to her father; she was a complete daddy's girl. He picked her up off of the ground, and she giggled.

"When will you be back?" she asked wrapping her tiny arms around her father's neck.

"We'll be back late tonight. I'll make sure to tell you when we get home." She smiled and places a kiss on her Draco's cheek. He smiled and set her back on the ground. She went and wrapped her arms around Hermione's legs.

"I'll miss you mummy." Hermione smiled and stroked her daughter's bouncy, blonde curls.

"We'll be back before you know it. Besides, you will be having so much fun with Ron and James you won't even notice that we've gone." Elyse smiled and skipped back over to the table to finish her breakfast. Hermione walked over to the table and gave each of her children a kiss on the forehead.

"You all better be good for James and Ron, okay?" Alex, Amanda, and Elyse nodded. "And you two," Hermione said pointing to the twins, "I would appreciate it if I don't have to end up taking any of my children to St. Mungo's in pieces, got it?" Ron and James grinned as Hermione kissed them on the forehead as well.

"We'll probably be back around midnight. All of you in bed by 10 at the latest." Draco said picking up both his and Hermione's clothes and stepping towards the fireplace. Hermione waved to the children and followed him. Draco went first; he took a handful of floo powder and shouted, "POTTER COTTAGE." Hermione followed after him, disappearing into the bright, green flames.

Ron and James glanced at each other with mischievous grins on their faces, "Now let the fun begin."

Hermione arrived only seconds after Draco at the Potter household, and she was just in time to see Ginny enter the living room.

"Hermione!" she squealed. She rushed over to Hermione and hugged her as best as she could, seeing as both of them were getting pretty big. Harry walked over to Draco.

"I see Hermione didn't exactly travel light." He remarked, taking some of the clothes and things from Draco.

"Do they ever?" The two men chuckled and placed the robes and other things on the couch in the living room.

"We resent that." Ginny said for both herself and Hermione. Draco grinned and Harry walked over and pulled Hermione into a tight embrace.

"How are you feeling, Hermione?" he asked after they released one another. She shrugged.

"Pregnant. I'm used to it by now though." She said lightly with a bright smile on her face. She then quickly turned to Ginny. "So, Ron and James tell me you found out the sex of the baby. Out with it!"

Ginny beamed, "It's a girl." Hermione squealed and embraced Ginny.

Draco turned to Harry and they shared a manly hug as well. "Congrats, mate." Draco said. Harry smiled.

"She's so excited. Gin loves the boys, but she's always wanted a girl to do all those girly thing with." Draco nodded in understanding.

"I'm glad our next one is a boy. Alex and I are already outnumbered as it is. We need another bloke in the house to keep the balance." They both laughed and turned to their wives. "So, what are the plans for today? We've got a solid 7 hours before we have to floo for the reunion."

"Well, Hermione and I are going to go upstairs and catch up for a bit. Then we'll get ready and meet you guys down here at about 6. You two can just hang out and do whatever. Just don't get too sloshed; you both remember what happened last time." Ginny said, sending a warning glance at the two men. Harry and Draco exchanged innocent glances.

"We wouldn't dream of getting drunk and running around Hogwarts in naught but our pants!" Harry replied in a scandalized voice. He turned to Draco and mumbled, "Even though we've done it before." Hermione and Ginny shook their heads and made their way upstairs. As soon as they were gone, Harry and Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"I think the hormones are making them barmy." Draco said leaning back on the couch. "The only reason we did that last time was because Longbottom dared us."

"I'll never forget the look on McGonagall's face when we ran past her office." Harry reminisced. "Poor Neville, I bet he got an earful from her for inviting us to hang out."

"You know he did; it was his fault though. Do you feel up to a game of chess?" Draco asked pulling out the Wizard's Chess set.

"Of course." Harry said, sitting up on the couch. "Are you ready to lose, Malfoy?"

"You wish."

7 Hours Later…

"Hermione, Ginny, hurry up! We're going to be late!" Harry called up the stairs.

"We're coming! Relax." Ginny called back.

The two husbands turned when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Ginny walked down the stairs first in a dark blue gown and matching dress robes. The dress flowed down to her ankles and it fit her in such a way that it was rather hard to tell that she was four months pregnant. Hermione followed after her in a magenta dress with dress robes that matched as well. The gown was tight at her bust, but it flowed from under her chest and accentuated her pregnant curves. They were both glowing.

"You look beautiful." Draco said placing a kiss on Hermione's cheek. She smiled and looked him over once.

"You look rather dashing yourself." She said taking his hand. He smirked slightly and she kissed him on the lips.

"Is everyone ready to go? We were supposed to floo to The Three Broomsticks about 10 minutes ago. Hannah's going to think we got lost or something." Harry told everyone. They all nodded and walked to the fireplace. Draco and Hermione flooed first, and Harry and Ginny followed close behind them.

The two couples thanked Hannah for letting them use her floo, and she left with them to meet up with Neville at the carriages that would take them up to the castle. They reached the carriages and gazed upon the thestrals pulling the carriages; they could all see them after the war. They waved to Neville and Hannah as they all got into their separate carriages. Harry and Draco both helped their wives step up into the carriage, and then they were off. Sitting next to Draco, Hermione noticed that he looked a little pale and nervous. She took his hand comfortingly.

"Don't be so nervous. If you can get along well with Neville and the Weasleys, what make you think your classmates will be any different? If anyone in the world has any reason to hate you, it would be them, but they don't hate you. Stop worrying so much because everything will be fine." She wrapped her free arm around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder in reassuring embrace.

"Don't worry, mate. Gin and I will take the spotlight if it gets too bright. We're used to it anyway." Harry reassured Draco with a grin. Ginny nodded.

"Actually, if anyone is going to get hounded by your classmates, it's going to be Hermione. She's a big as a house." Ginny laughed at the scowl on Hermione's face.

"Oh, you just wait Ginny Potter. I will thoroughly enjoy antagonizing you when you're 7, no, almost 8 months pregnant." Hermione said smugly.

"How do you think the kids are doing?" Ginny asked.

"They're probably fine. Ron and James are great with kids." Harry said confidently.

Back at Camp…

"You bloody gits better let me down from here!" Alex yelled from the top of the flagpole. Ron and James had tied him to the rope, and hoisted him up to the very top of the flagpole.

"Oi, you better watch your language. There are little ears down here!" Ron said pointing to Elyse and Amanda.

"I'm not little! I'm nine and a half!" Amanda said harshly.

"Okay, there is a little ear down here, so shut it!" James said.

"You prats better let me down! Wait til Aunt Ginny hears about this!" Alex threatened.

"She won't find out about it though, because no one is-"

"What is going on here?" a voice called from behind them.

"Bloody Hell, it's," Ron started.

"Jess." James finished.

"Jess!" Elyse squealed, running over to her mother's long time friend.

"Sarah's here too! And Josh and Nathan!" Amanda said, leaving Ron and James by the flag pole. Jess walked over with Elyse's hand her own.

"What are you doing to Alex? Let him down you twits! He could get hurt!" she said slapping the twins in the back of the head. They quickly lowered him down and untied him. Jess kneeled down to Alex's level and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm telling mum never to leave us alone with these gits ever again!" he said pointing to Ron and James. They just grinned.

"What are you guys doing here anyway, Jess?" Ron asked curiously.

"We always come this time every year. I guess Hermione and Draco forgot about us. Oh well. We'll just go get settled into cabins and everything. Mark and Angela will be here eventually, I just don't know when." Jess told the twins.

"Did Leslie and Sam come?" James asked. Before Jess could even answer, someone tackled James from behind, causing him to land face down on the ground.

"Never mind." He mumbled into the grass. Jessica, Leslie and Ron were all laughing.

"What's all the fuss, everyone?" Sarah asked walking down the path with a bundle in her arms and Nathan and her daughter, Sam, were walking beside her.

"Baby Ray!" Amanda and Elyse squealed, running over to Sarah and her new baby, Rachael, who was about 6 months old.

"Sam!" Ron called to his close friend. She smiled, ran over to him, and engulfed him in a hug. "Man, squirt, you're getting big." She released him and punched him in the shoulder. "Ouch!" he cried, rubbing his arm.

"Didn't I tell you to quit with the squirt thing? I'm only three and a half years younger than you!" she told him seriously. He smirked as Leslie and James walked over. The foursome began to talk on and on about what had happened over the past year. Leslie was 14, and Sam was 13 (and a half, she always reminded everyone), but they had always been as close as friends could be. While the four teenagers were chatting, Alex walked over to where Josh, Jessie, Sarah and Nathan were standing with his two sisters.

"Hey, Josh, did Matt come down?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, he's up at the Eagle cabin unpacking. He's actually probably reading." Josh told Alex. As soon as he heard "the Eagle cabin," He raced up the path to the cabin to see one of his best mates. Matthew was Josh and Jessie's son, and he was 11, just like Alex.

"I guess we can count on not seeing the two of them for the rest of the evening." Josh said with a smile on his face. The rest of the adults nodded in agreement.

"Who thinks it's time to go for a swim?" Nathan suggested.

"That's a great idea! Last one in the lake has to change Ray's diaper!" Sam yelled, dashing toward the lake. In less than a heartbeat, all of the kids rushed down the path to the lake, leaving the adults laughing at their revulsion back in the field.

Hermione stepped out of the carriage slowly and gazed upon the massive, dazzling castle before her. The place she had sworn that she would never again step foot in, was the exact place that she was going to. The castle where she had spent 7 years of her life; where friends had been made and lost, love found, and memories created. She did not know exactly what awaited her once she would step foot inside, but she knew one thing; she was home.

Harry and Ginny had begun to walk up the path that led to the castle, but Draco had noticed her hesitation. He took her hand and squeezed it tightly, causing her to look up into his eyes. He smiled slightly, and wrapped his arms around her waist. She rested her face against his chest and let out a shaky breath,

"Now who's stalling?" He said cheekily, causing her to laugh a little. She sniffed a little bit, and Draco gently lifted her chin so that she was looking into his eyes. "Everything will be fine. Just take deep breaths. I'll be right here the entire time. I know it's tough, but you know you can walk in there with your head held high because you got past all of this many years ago. And there's no crying allowed; you know Ginny will murder you if you mess up that make-up" Hermione laughed and kissed him gently on the lips.

"I love you." She said taking his hand.

"I love you, too." He placed a kiss on her temple, and together they walked up to the castle to face their memories, their classmates, and their pasts.

When the couple entered the entrance hall, there were only a few stragglers left who had not already gone into the Great Hall. There was a small table set up in front of the door, and there were two people sitting there that Hermione had not seen in a long time. She and Draco walked up to the table, hands still intertwined. The women's eyes grew wide as Hermione and Draco approached them.

"Hermione is that you?" asked the woman with blonde hair. Hermione nodded.  
"Oh! I told you it was her Parvati!" Lavender jumped up and rushed around the table. She hugged Hermione gently and pulled back with a bright smile on her face. "Hermione you are absolutely glowing! When is the baby due?"

"The end of October." She answered.

"That's wonderful! Well, let's get you two your nametags so that you can head in." She went back around the table and sat next to Parvati. Parvati checked Hermione off of the list of guests.

"So, what should I put on these nametags?" Parvati asked Hermione and Draco.

"Hermione Malfoy on mine and you both know my husband, Draco Malfoy." Hermione responded. Parvati and Lavender nodded and smiled, writing the names on the tags. Parvati and Lavender handed them the name tags.

"Have fun you two! We'll be in once everyone arrives, so we'll catch up later." Parvati told Hermione enthusiastically. Hermione smiled and led Draco away from the table and toward the door.

"Did you see Lavender's name tag? She married McLaggen! My God there couldn't be a more perfect match." Hermione said with a laugh.

"I remember that bloke. He was quite cocky, wasn't he? I didn't like him much; not like I liked many Gryffindors anyway."

Hermione snorted, "You definitely hit the nail on the head there." Draco smiled and wrapped and arm around her waist.

"Ready to head in; face the past?" he said reaching his hand out to push open the door. She nodded and wrapped her arm around his waist as well. He pushed open one of the doors leading into the great hall and they went inside. There were small tables set up all around the Hall that seated about 8 people. Stars were twinkling above them, and everything looked perfect. The buzz of conversation was everywhere, and no one had noticed them enter. Hermione glanced around the room, trying to find Harry and Ginny.

"I think they're over there." Draco whispered softly, pointing over Hermione's shoulder to the left. She turned her head slightly and noticed a large crowd of people where Draco had just pointed. She smiled.

"Yeah, me too. Let's head over there." She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where the mob was crowding around Harry and Ginny. They reached the edge of the crowd and couldn't get through to Harry and Ginny. Hermione had and idea.

"Draco, you walk in front." She said pushing him ahead of her.

"What?" he asked puzzled.

"That's the only way we'll get through. Part the crowd, now _walk_." She put her hands on his lower back and gave him a slight nudge. He let out a small groan and began walking. "Coming through. Excuse us." Hermione said as her former classmates turned to look at her and Draco. When they finally reached Harry and Ginny, everyone was looking at them expectantly.

"For the love of Merlin. You guys are definitely popular." Draco said exasperatedly. Harry laughed.

"Have you not met me, Draco? Boy Who Lived, big scar on my forehead, attention magnet?" Harry said pointing to himself. Hermione and Ginny laughed, and Draco shrugged. Out of nowhere, a horde of women came up to Hermione and began bombarding her with questions about the baby, and her life in general; no one had seen her for a long time. Harry and Draco stood off to the side, watching the attention that their wives were receiving.

"I guess you were right; I'm virtually invisible compared to Hermione." Draco said, somewhat relieved.

"I told you. Why don't we grab a table and some drinks; the girls will want to sit down soon, they can't be on their feet for too long." Harry pointed out. Draco agreed and they set off to get some drinks and find a table. They had been approached by a few curious classmates, but not as many as Draco had expected. Neville came and sat with them because his wife, Hannah Abbot, was currently with Hermione and Ginny. Some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws greeted them, but no Slytherins; Draco seemed to be one of the very few Slytherins at the reunion.

About 20 minutes later, Hannah and Ginny found Harry, Neville, and Draco at their table. Ginny sat down and took off her shoes, as did Hannah, but Hermione was not with them.

"Where's Hermione?" Draco asked anxiously.

"She told us to tell you that she went out to the grounds for a minute; she said she'd be right in." Hannah informed Draco. He thanked them and quickly got up from the table to find Hermione.

She felt the warm air whip her hair around her face and twirl the hem of her dress around her ankles. She breathed deeply and gazed at the stars lining the night sky. She sat at the edge of the lake, plucking blades of grass from the ground and twirling them between her fingers. She let her mind wander back to all of her memories from Hogwarts; she let herself remember. She let herself get lost in her memories, both the good and the bad.

**_Hermione and Ron were lying outside on the Hogwarts' grounds by the lake. They were watching the clouds pass by, and enjoying their last day together at Hogwarts. _****_"Hermione, I need you to promise me something." Ron said to Hermione. _****_"Sure anything." She said looking at him with a very concerned look on her face. _****_"Harry, you, and I are going off to get rid of the most evil wizard on the planet. I don't have such a great feeling about all this. So I want you to promise that whatever happens to me, know that I love you, and I want what's best for you. So no matter what you do, always be happy, for me, okay?" Hermione's eyes began to well up with tears and she gave Ron a hug and kissed him on the lips gently. _****_"You can't go into this thinking like that Ron…" _****_"Promise me!" He said to her forcefully. _****_"I'll be happy, I promise." She said._**

Her reverie was broken when she felt someone sit down beside her and place their hand over her own. She turned her head and smiled when she saw Draco beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked wrapping an arm around her waist. She leaned back against his chest and placed both of his arms around her waist.

"I'm perfect." She said turning her head to kiss his jaw.

Hermione was being completely honest when she said she was perfect. She had a husband who loved her without question, three beautiful children and one on the way, and the best friends a person could ever hope for. She had kept her promise to her first love, and because of him she had found the love of her life, and her reason to live.

* * *

**A/N: Once again, thanks so much for reading! I hope you all enjoyed the epilogue : PLEASE leave me a review, PLEASE!**


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